House Republicans reportedly won't lower taxes for wealthiest Americans

House Republicans will not lower taxes for the most affluent Americans, people familiar with House Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) plans told The Wall Street Journal. While the GOP had initially proposed a decrease to 33 percent for the highest earners, down from the current 39.6 percent, Republicans are now poised not to change the rate at all, or change it only by a very small amount. "The overall bill, it is a winner, and that's why I'm excited," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ahead of the legislation's release, which has been postponed from Wednesday to Thursday.

The exact income brackets are not yet clear, although The Wall Street Journal calls it "likely" that the 39.6 percent tax rate will apply to a higher threshold than today's $480,050, meaning fewer wealthy Americans will actually pay at that level. Additionally, Democrats are expected to take issue with many benefits that remain for the wealthy, including the higher cutoff, a delayed, phased-in repeal of the estate tax, and other proposals the richest Americans can use to pay less than their 39.6 percent rate.

Still, "some high-income wage earners could face higher federal tax bills, particularly if they live in high-tax states and are thus no longer able to deduct their state income taxes, as the plan will suggest," The Wall Street Journal writes.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The draft bill would still immediately cut the top corporate tax rate to 20 percent. Read four ideas in the Republican tax plan that Democrats should get on board with here at The Week.