Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch on Monday rejected the idea that Sen. Bob Corker pushed to include language in the tax bill at the last minute that would boost his own fortune, and that he switched his vote to a “yes” after the language was secured.
“I am disgusted by press reports that have distorted one particular aspect of the conference agreement on H.R.1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” Hatch, R-Utah, wrote in a public letter to Corker, R-Tenn.
“Some have asserted that a new provision was crafted for real estate developers and was ‘air-dropped’ into the conference agreement,” Hatch wrote. “Second, reports have implied that you had some role in advocating for or negotiating the inclusion of this provision. Both assertions are categorically false.”
Hatch’s letter was a response to media reports on Sunday claiming the previously undecided Corker decided to vote for the legislation only after language was added to the bill that allows real estate owners to take advantage of new tax breaks for noncorporate businesses, which would presumably benefit Corker.
Corker had voted against a Senate tax reform bill last month that did not include the real estate provision.
According to one report, the provision was added at the last minute, although Hatch pointed out it originated in the House version.
“It takes a great deal of imagination – and likely no small amount of partisanship – to argue that a provision that has been public for over a month, debated on the floor of the House of Representatives, included in a House-passed bill, and identified by [the Joint Committee on Taxation] as an issue requiring a compromise between conferees is somehow a covert and last-minute addition to the conference report,” Hatch wrote to Corker.
Hatch said the goal of the language was to ensure tax cuts for pass-through companies are achieved, and added that both the House and Senate were working on language aimed at making sure that high-income earners aren’t able to treat their personal income as business income in order to avoid the top individual rate.
Corker said on Sunday he had no idea the provision was in the bill, but in response to press reports, he asked for a detailed explanation from Hatch, who responded with Monday’s letter.
“I am unaware of any attempt by you or your staff to contact anyone on the conference committee regarding this provision or any related policy matter,” he wrote. “To the contrary, virtually all the concerns you had raised in the past about the treatment of pass-through businesses in tax reform were to voice skepticism about the generosity of various proposals under consideration.”
The Senate is expected to vote on the measure as early as Tuesday. The House will also vote on the bill early this week.
Corker, who is not running for re-election, announced on Friday he would vote for the measure. He has not signaled he’ll change his vote.
