House GOP waffles on Trump's promised permanent cut in corporate tax rate

By Mike DeBonis and Damian Paletta November 1 at 7:34 PM

House Republican leaders are preparing to release their tax plan on Thursday after numerous delays, but in a late switch, they now say the initial version of their bill will not contain one of President Trump’s major promises.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) said Wednesday that the bill he will introduce would not permanently lower the corporate tax rate to 20 percent. Instead, the cut would be temporary, and that reduction would expire in around eight years, according to a person briefed on the planning who wasn’t authorized to disclose details.

Brady said he had to make changes to keep his upcoming bill in line with rules Republicans need to abide by if they hope to pass the measure through the Senate without Democratic support. He added he hopes to make changes during negotiations with the Senate at some point to make the cuts long-term, but at this time he is unable to propose a permanent cut. “It’s going to take several steps through the process to achieve” permanence on the corporate rate, Brady said, citing what he termed “those awfully funny” Senate rules.

It’s a jarring shift, as Trump has frequently touted the importance of lowering the corporate tax rate, and the White House has been promising companies the reductions would be permanent.

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