STEVE MNUCHIN, the treasury secretary, once expected to have passed tax reform by now. The Republicans’ tortuous and ultimately doomed struggle to reform health care put paid to that goal. Yet the Trump administration still promises to cut taxes in 2017, and Republicans in Congress are desperate to show that their control of the legislature is worth something. On July 27th leaders from Congress and the White House announced they had agreed on the “principles” of tax reform. Four days later, the White House set out an “aggressive” timetable to pass a bill through the House in October and the Senate in November. Yet Republicans are not as united as they seem on tax policy. Their plans will probably go the way of Mr Mnuchin’s earlier schedule—and could even meet the same fate as their health-care bill.
Tax “reform” is probably a misnomer. The last true reform, in 1986, under Ronald Reagan, reduced tax rates without losing revenue by eliminating swathes of tax...Continue reading
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