death and taxes and more taxes

It took this reporter 18 tries before he could find a GOP congressman who knew the tax brackets in their new bill

December 19, 2017

.polaris__post-meta--date { display: none; } .polaris__post-meta--date.no-script { display: block; padding-left: 45px } December 19, 2017

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The House and Senate are expected to vote Tuesday on the GOP tax overhaul, with both chambers likely to pass the legislation. But with just hours to go before the votes are cast, some Republicans are still fuzzy on the exact details of their own bill, which is being rushed to President Trump's desk for a signature before Christmas:

I’ve only asked four Congressman at this point — so bear with me — but not one has known what the tax brackets are on a bill they’re voting for in a few hours.Partial credit to Kevin Cramer. He was close.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) December 19, 2017

The Huffington Post's Matt Fuller recorded his attempt to find any Republican congressman who could name the tax brackets in the bill:

I asked Kevin Brady — THE WAYS AND MEANS CHAIRMAN — if he could name the tax brackets.He said he could, and he knew there were seven, but he refused to name them. (Or he couldn’t name them.)I’m currently 0-11 on a House Republicans who can name the brackets in this bill.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) December 19, 2017

A few lawmakers later ... still nothing:

For the 13th Republican, Billy Long just stopped talking and went silent.0-13
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) December 19, 2017

Then, at long last, a winner:

I have finally found a Congressman who knows the brackets off the top of his head!Chris Stewart. (Leave it to Utah!)It took me 18 tries.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) December 19, 2017

Here's the correct answer to Fuller's question: There will still be seven personal income brackets, but they are rearranged to 10, 12, 22, 24, 32, 35, and 37 percent. The current top tax bracket is 39.6 percent. Study up on the full details of the Republicans' bill at The Associated Press.