President Trump on Thursday praised the House GOP’s passage of their tax reform plan, calling it a “big win” for reform.
The bill passed by a vote of 227-205, with every Democrat opposing the measure and 13 Republicans joining them.
"Congratulations to the House of Representatives for passing the #TaxCutsandJobsAct — a big step toward fulfilling our promise to deliver historic TAX CUTS for the American people by the end of the year!" he said on Twitter. "Big win today in the House for GOP Tax Cuts and Reform, 227-205,. Zero Dems, they want to raise taxes much higher, but not for our military!"
Congratulations to the House of Representatives for passing the #TaxCutsandJobsAct — a big step toward fulfilling our promise to deliver historic TAX CUTS for the American people by the end of the year! https://t.co/8FjefMj6hh
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2017
Big win today in the House for GOP Tax Cuts and Reform, 227-205. Zero Dems, they want to raise taxes much higher, but not for our military!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2017
Aside from Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina, the rest of the Republicans who opposed the measure represent high-tax state such as New Jersey, New York, and California, where the legislation’s treatment of the state and local tax deduction will have "crippling" effects for residents.
Currently, taxpayers can deduct their state and local property taxes as well as either their income or sales taxes. The House bill would repeal the income and sales tax deductions and cap the property tax deduction at $10,000.
Jones voted against the legislation because of concerns about the elimination of certain tax credits and deductions, as well as the impact on the deficit.
“I’m all for tax reform, but it must grow the economy, not the debt,” Jones said in a statement.
The House GOP’s tax-reform bill is expected to add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. (The Hill)
In addition to Jones, the Republicans who voted against the legislation include: Reps. Dan Donovan, John Faso, Pete King, Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin of New York; Rodney Frelinghuysen, Leonard Lance, Frank LoBiondo and Chris Smith of New Jersey; and Reps. Darrell Issa, Tom McClintock and Dana Rohrabacher of California.
Nevertheless, House Speaker Paul Ryan hailed the bill’s passage as “the single biggest thing we can do to grow the economy, to restore opportunity and help these middle-income families who are struggling.”