House GOP delays tax overhaul plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans, straining to make last-minute changes to their far-reaching tax proposal, today delayed the rollout by a day after they failed to finalize the details.

The plan pushed by President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress is a top legislative priority. The details originally were to be unveiled Wednesday, but that was delayed until Thursday, a senior GOP aide said tonight. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the individual wasn't allowed to publicly discuss the schedule.

The tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee had worked throughout the day and evening to produce a plan for the first overhaul of the nation's tax code in three decades.

Although they had settled on some key details – such as a cut in the corporate tax rate to 20 percent and maintaining the top personal income tax rate for the wealthy of 39.6 percent – other elements still had to be resolved.

Trump has intensified his lobbying for the nearly $6 trillion tax overhaul plan, seeking a major legislative achievement after the collapse of the health care repeal. The president predicted a grand signing ceremony before Christmas at "the biggest tax event in the history of our country."

The plan originally unveiled by Trump and congressional Republicans called for shrinking the number of tax brackets from seven to three, with respective tax rates of 12 percent, 25 percent, 35 percent. That plan drew immediate criticism from Democrats, who complained it was too favorable to the wealthy and undermined Trump's rhetoric about it benefiting the middle class.