House Speaker Paul Ryan made an “ironclad commitment” on Thursday to reform the tax code this year after unveiling a tax plan squarely aimed at appealing to the middle class, and not the wealthy.
“Yes, the focus is on middle class tax relief,” Ryan, R-Wis., said. “It’s focused on people in the middle and people trying to get there.”
Republicans will gather this afternoon to start digging into the details of the plan, which were released just before noon.
GOP lawmakers got a glimpse of the new tax brackets and loophole closures Thursday morning. So far, many GOP lawmakers appear pleased with the plan, but were awaiting the now-released text.
The bill appears to have a two-part central focus that holds practical and political benefits for the party.
First, it provides for nearly $1,200 in tax savings for a family of four earning $59,000 per year. Such a plan would put the individual tax reform benefit squarely in the pocket of middle-class families and would make it harder for Democrats keen on denouncing the plan as a tax cut for the wealthy.
Second, the legislation slashes corporate taxes to 20 percent, a move that will likely lure companies back the United States. That will create jobs and increase paychecks that will also benefit the middle class, Republicans said Thursday.
“We are going to compete and we are going to win and our jobs and paychecks for middle-class families are going to grow,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas.
Republicans are battling Democrats, who are trying to pitch the GOP bill as one that helps the rich and leaves everyone else with a confusion tax situation. But Republicans say their bill will help end that argument.
“We are directly attacking the status quo,” said Rep Pete Roskam, R-Ill., a member of the Ways and Means tax-writing panel. “It is the few that benefit under the status quo and everyone else that feels crushed by this and overwhelmed by this.”
Roskam said the GOP leadership is urging rank-and-file Republicans “to be diligent, convincing,” on delivering the message that the plan is aimed at helping the middle class and not the wealthy.
“We are going to get this done,” Ryan told reporters as he was flanked by tax writers and other GOP lawmakers. “The political will is strong and you can see it right here.”
