House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) lauded the Nov. 16 passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in the House as “a historic moment for the American people.”
“This past week has really been amazing, we are making history for the American people, the House representatives delivered bold, transformational tax reform for the first time in 31 years that will lead to more jobs, fairer taxes and bigger paychecks,” said Brady.
With the last substantial tax reform being passed nearly 31-years ago, the bill has been on the Congressman’s agenda since his first days in office. According to Brady, the bill, which is now being debated within Senate committee, will provide a “typical middle-income family of four earning $59,000” a “$1,182 tax cut.”
“For Texas, the House bill will create 74,000 new jobs and increase paychecks, on average, by about $2,500,” said Brady.
While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have made pledges to bring a “unified tax reform initiative” to the White House, there has been debate on the if the Senate will make wide-sweeping changes to the bill passed by the House.
“The Senate will take up their bill here when they return after Thanksgiving and once that passes, it will go to a conference committee that will iron out the differences and bring it back to both the House and Senate to pass,” said Brady. “Right now, we are on schedule to deliver tax reform to the president’s desk by the end of the year.
“There are differences between the House and the Senate bill, but there is an awful lot of common ground as well. I think it is healthy that they have new ideas on tax reform, but what is encouraging is that both the House and Senate are driving toward the pro-growth, bold tax reform that we agreed with the President we would do.”
Grimes County and small business benefits
“When I talk to my neighbors and local businesses in Texas about what this bill will mean for their lives, this is what I tell them – you are going to see more jobs created on main street in your community, you are going to see jobs come home from overseas, you are going to see bigger paychecks, you are going to have an easier time filing your taxes and you are going to have more of your hard-earned paychecks to use how you choose to use it,” said Brady.
According to Brady and other proponents of the new tax reform, fixed income and middle-income families whose primary income, or supplement income, is made through small business will find multiple avenues of relief in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“With the new standard deduction of $24,000 for a family and lower tax rates for individuals, it really helps those making $50,000 or less,” said Brady. “But for the main street businesses, in the Ways and Means Committee we added a new small business provision endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Businesses. We created a super low rate of nine percent for the first $75,000 that a small business earns, whether they are the local attorney, accountant or they run the deli and the doughnut shop.
“That is the lowest rate on small businesses in modern history and we think it will help main streets in Grimes County and across the country.”
Looking ahead
As the bill continues to evolve in the Senate committees and in the subsequent conference committees, the Congressman claims that the work is not over until America “leapfrogs from dead last among global competitors to the lead pack.”
“It was a crucial step and a historic step, but it was not the last step,” said Brady. “I am working to make this tax reform bill better at every step along the way. In fact, our tax team worked on improvements to the bill as we continue to listen to the American people about what they want to see in a 21st century pro-family, pro-growth tax code. So there are improvements left to make and I am excited about that.”
For more information on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R.1), go to https://waysandmeans.house.gov/taxreform/.
