Top Republican eyes second phase of tax cuts this year

A top House Republican said Wednesday that Republicans are considering a second tax-reform package later this year, boosted by “optimism” about the GOP tax plan passed at the end of 2017.

House Ways and Means Committee chairman Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said on Fox Business Network that Republicans are mulling the release of the phase two tax proposal “this year.” He says the second phase could include making permanent the temporary tax cuts for working families in that was in December’s bill.

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“We’re really encouraged. Mainstream optimism is at record levels, our economy is really gaining momentum and booming in a big way. But look, we think even more can be done,” Brady said.

“We want to help families save for the long term,” Brady continued. “While the tax cuts for families were long-term, they’re not yet permanent. So we’re going to address issues like that, and we’re in discussions with the White House, with the president, about this issue and also House Republicans are continuing to work.”

Brady’s comments come after House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said last week that Republicans in Congress would likely hold off on any technical fixes to the tax bill until after the November midterms and that he didn’t expect any changes to the tax code this year.

“We’re very excited about the outcome of tax reform because what is now happening in America is precisely what we were hoping would happen in America by passing tax reform,” Ryan said.

“I don’t think there will be any big changes coming through to the tax code,” Ryan added at a Home Depot supply center in Atlanta last Thursday. “We’ll wait till the end of the year to see if there are any technical glitches that need to be fixed.”

But Brady says he expects phase two of the GOP plan to be released after Republicans finish listening to local business owners and others.

“As far as fine-tuning and making corrections, that’s routine in a tax reform of this size. So right now we’re listening to stakeholders, local business and others about some of the fine-tuning they’d like to see done. So we’ll forward that as well in the future,” Brady said. “The answer is this year. We haven’t set a timetable yet but we are exploring what good new ideas can be brought forward.”