In the 'grain glitch,' the GOP is reaping what it sowed

The GOP has spent years refusing to help Democrats fix ObamaCare. Do they really expect Democrats to help them fix their tax bill?

Republican House and Senate leaders.
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Predictable as a sunrise, Republicans have encountered the first major unintended consequence of a tax cut bill that was ill-considered to begin with and then hurried madly across the finish line. Wags are calling it the "grain glitch":

A late change to the legislation altered a deduction for United States production in a way that permitted farmers to deduct 20 percent of their total sales to cooperatives — agricultural organizations owned by groups of farmers that operate for the benefit of their members.This allows farmers to deeply reduce their tax bills, but it has caused an uproar among independent agriculture businesses that say they can no longer compete with cooperatives, since farmers would choose to sell to cooperatives to take advantage of the more generous tax break. [The New York Times]

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Scott Galupo

Scott Galupo is a freelance writer living in Virginia. In addition to The Week, he blogs for U.S. News and reviews live music for The Washington Post. He was formerly a senior contributor to the American Conservative and staff writer for The Washington Times. He was also an aide to Rep. John Boehner. He lives with his wife and two children and writes about politics to support his guitar habit.