Individual-Mandate Repeal Gains Traction As GOP Scrambles To Close $74B Revenue Hole
But while the move would give House tax writers an estimated $416 billion in sorely needed offsets for the deep rate cuts they want, it risks alienating GOP senators.
Bloomberg:
Revenue Hole May Bring GOP Back To Repeal Of Obamacare Mandate
The impact of House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady’s amendment to revise one of the GOP tax bill’s offshore provisions emerged late Tuesday -- an estimated $74 billion revenue hole, which is sending tax writers scrambling to find additional revenue. They may pursue a risky strategy to make up the shortfall: repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. House Republicans are edging closer to accepting President Donald Trump’s suggestion to combine their tax legislation with a repeal of the mandate that all individuals purchase health insurance, according to a person who’s helping to draft the tax bill. (11/8)
Roll Call:
Brady Says Individual Mandate Repeal Isn’t Off The Table
Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady on Tuesday left open the possibility that repeal of the 2010 health care law’s individual mandate could eventually make it into the GOP’s tax overhaul. The Texas Republican released a substitute amendment Monday that the Ways and Means Committee adopted on a party-line vote that did not include the mandate repeal or any health care changes. But Brady told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday that he’s asked for an updated cost estimate on repealing the individual mandate, indicating he won’t make a final decision until he sees that. (McPherson, 11/7)
Meanwhile —
The Wall Street Journal:
GOP Senators Aim to Retain Medical-Expenses Deduction
Senate Republicans aim to preserve a popular tax deduction for household medical expenses when they release their version of a tax plan later this week, parting ways with House lawmakers on a proposal that costs about $182 billion over a decade, according to people familiar with the matter. They are also considering delaying the start of a cut in the top corporate tax rate to 20% from 35% but hadn’t decided on the matter as of Tuesday evening. (Hughes, 11/7)