The Tax Bill released by the GOP last week has been reviewed by the Congressional Budget Office. The bill is facing some scrutiny from the review committee as well as Senate and House Democrats. The GOP Tax Reform bill has exceeded Senate limits on the national deficit, which under the current bill would increase by $74 Billion. In addition to increasing the deficit by $1.7 trillion, the new GOP tax bill appears to increase the tax burden for many Americans despite Republican claims of tax relief for middle-class Americans. A report by CNN confirms this breaking information as well as most of the facts in this article.

The GOP remains confident

Prominent members of the GOP, including Paul Ryan (House Speaker) and Mitch McConnell (Senate Majority Leader), are holding onto the idea that the tax bill would decrease taxes for Americans across all income levels. However, the Budget Office review indicates something different. The Congressional Budget Committee finds that early on (2019), approximately 11 percent of households would see a tax increase. Fast forward to ten years, as credits written into the bill diminish and as a result of the effects of inflation, around 1 in 5 American families would see a tax increase. Democrats are coming after Republican lawmakers for these obscure tax increases while also claiming that large corporations would benefit from significant tax decreases.

In its current form, the tax bill would increase the national deficit by $1.7 trillion dollars. A change made in committee to excise taxes, to be paid by multinational companies, are a major contributing factor to the bill's exceeding the deficit limit imposed by the Senate ($1.5 trillion deficit limit). As changes to the tax bill occur, and as the bill circulates both chambers of the Congress, the deficit is likely to increase.

Congressional Republicans need revenue

Democrats are concerned that the GOP will be coming after entitlement programs in order to secure that tax revenue. The need for tax revenue to offset the deficit increase is also why Republicans have not eliminated discussions about the health care mandate. Despite many Americans being unhappy with the tax penalties imposed on uninsured Americans, these tax penalties are a source of revenue that the GOP desperately needs.

Republicans need sources of tax revenue in order to give their tax bill a chance to make it through both the House and the Senate. Democrats are against the bill with concerns that the GOP Bill, as it stands, would force their states to make cuts to important social and educational programs.

Republican leaders want a bill on the president's desk by Christmas

Given how quickly GOP leaders want this tax bill to move through both the House and the Senate, the deficit and tax increases could pose a threat to the passing of this GOP tax bill. As it stands, there are five Republican House members who are publically a no vote on the tax bill, Republicans can lose no more than 22 votes in the house and still expect the bill to pass.

This bill needs to pass the House and Senate

Even if the bill makes it through both sides of Congress, Republican lawmakers still face the challenge of reconciling what could be two very different versions of this tax plan into one bill to vote on and have on the president's desk for a signature by the end of the year. A very aggressive goal that has people concerned on both sides that tax reform won't be possible.
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