GOP Senators Concerned About Senate Tax Bill
WASHINGTON - Sen. Susan Collins recited a list of concerns she had with the Republican tax bill, raising pressure on the the GOP to slow the progress and make changes to secure it passes through the Senate. The Maine Republican said “I want to see chances in that bill and I think there will be changes,” adding that she hasn't decided if she will vote against the bill as it’s currently written. The bill is slated for vote after Thanksgiving, but the GOP can only lose two votes in order to keep their majority.
At least six Republican senators have expressed concerns about the bill, but if the the bill changes to accommodate those people, it may lost votes of other senators.
Senator Collins said the Senate bill should reduce the corporate tax reform from 35% to 22% not 20%, as it stands in the current bill. She's says the additional revenue should be used to retain the individual deduction for state and local taxes. “That would really help middle income taxpayers,” she said.
She said a provision in the Senate bill that would repeal the requirement that most individuals carry health insurance or pay a penalty shouldn't be included but, if it is, it should be accompanied by a measure stabilizing insurance markets and lowering premiums. Stripping the individual mandate would remove about $318 billion in money that provision had freed up, forcing the Senate to make up the difference elsewhere to fund the rate cuts.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said the administration preferred to repeal the individual mandate as part of the tax bill, but it would support the repeal’s removal if it stood in the way of the bill’s passage.
Other than the repeal of the individual mandate, the White House and GOP leaders refuse to effect change on the bill.
Based on data from the National Associations of Realtors, roughly 509,000 homeowners in New Mexico had a mortgage and 157,000 claimed a deduction for mortgage interest that year, almost $1.3 billion in deductions. This amount will be far less if Congress goes through with this reform bill. If they double the standard deduction, fewer homeowners would itemize their taxes, taking mortgage interest deduction off the table.
On average, New Mexican taxpayers saved $640 in taxes as a result of the state and local property tax deduction. With this at risk in the new tax plan, this will directly affect taxpayers through double taxation at both the state and federal level.
