Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the latest conservative to oppose the GOP's tax reform plan. Cruz, who can't get past those tax hikes, joins the likes of Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rand Paul (R-KY), who want Republicans to remove the Obamacare individual mandate tax from the bill.
The provision would raise an estimated $300 billion to $400 billion over the next decade, which Cruz and other Senate conservatives say could be used to lower individual tax rates even further.
“There are some taxpayers who are losing exemptions, particularly in some high-tax states like New York or California that could conceivably be paying higher taxes. I think that is a mistake. I think tax reform needs to cut taxes for everybody,” Cruz told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. (The Hill)
Other Republican senators like James Lankford (OK) are on the brink of opposing the plan because it has the potential to add $1.5 trillion in debt over the next decade.
"I am a no," he said. "I want to make sure we have reasonable assumptions in the process for growth estimates."
Meanwhile, social conservatives and pro-life groups have their own grievances with the GOP's tax reform effort because it stands to cut the adoption tax credit, which offers a tax refund to adopting parents.
The adoption tax credit is not just one more policy issue. Vulnerable children ought to be a priority for us all.
— Russell Moore (@drmoore) November 2, 2017
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) defends the cut, explaining that their increasing the child income tax credit will still assist families wanting to adopt.
Republicans are hoping to pass tax reform before Thanksgiving.