NEW YORK – A Republican senator closely involved in the current tax reform push said Friday it is “highly unlikely” that President Trump will have a tax bill to sign by Thanksgiving – the deadline several GOP lawmakers have described as “essential.”
Speaking to a private gathering of conservative donors in Manhattan, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said there are several questions surrounding deductions and carve-outs that may complicate tax reform in the coming weeks.
“Believing we’ll get this done by Thanksgiving is highly unrealistic,” Scott said, during a panel discussion with fellow GOP Sen. David Perdue of Georgia. “I think it’s likely that December becomes the month where the Senate is fighting over the last of the deductions. But November, in my opinion, is just unrealistic.”
Scott, who serves on the Senate Finance Committee, said congressional tax-writing committees are currently “behind the curb” due to inter-party debates over certain elements of tax reform.
“Some of the deductions that are going to be most challenging are the state and local deductions … the mortgage deduction,” he explained. “We’re still going to have a debate.”
Perdue said it is crucial for Republicans to score a legislative victory by the end of the year, claiming the party will suffer major losses in the 2018 midterm elections if members are unable to enact tax cuts and corporate tax reform.
“If we fail right now to deliver a meaningful tax package that stimulates the economy … if we don’t get that done, we’ll be the minority party for the next 50 to 100 years,” Perdue said.
