Tax cuts, Round 2: GOP looks to punish Democrats in 2018
‘It’s the tax pony, and that’s the only horse they have to ride,’ says one top Democrat.
By BURGESS EVERETT and RACHAEL BADE 03/27/2018 06:08 PM EDT
Republicans are dreaming of passing another round of tax cuts this year — or at least making vulnerable Democrats squirm by voting against them.
GOP leaders are weighing a series of votes to make last year’s temporary tax cuts for individuals permanent, according to Republicans in both chambers. The strategy would portray the party as the guardian of Americans’ paychecks, Republicans say, and buoy the GOP during a brutal election year.
Republicans argue they win regardless of whether it culminates with a Rose Garden ceremony: Either Democrats support the legislation, giving the GOP a major legislative accomplishment in its scramble to save its majorities. Or, more likely, Democrats block the bill — allowing Republicans to paint them as opponents of the middle class.
“Can you imagine Democrats voting that down? I mean, how do you explain that one?” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). “I just think they’d be in an impossible position. They’d have to support it.”
Much, if not all, of the maneuvering over tax cuts is pure politics. If Republicans were serious about passing a second batch of tax cuts, they’d use the powerful tool that allows for passage by a simple majority, as they did last December.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/27/tax-cuts-gop-2018-midterms-482158
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