Republicans reach deal on tax reform package

WASHINGTON—Republican leaders reached a compromise Wednesday merging the House and Senate tax plans as they move closer to passing a sweeping overhaul. “We’ve got a pretty good deal,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Wednesday. Republicans have not released the final text of the new bill, but party leaders are confident it has enough support to move to President Donald Trump’s desk before Christmas. Both House and Senate versions retained the top individual tax rate of 39.6 percent, but the new agreement would lower it to 37 percent. The merged plan would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, slightly higher than what lawmakers had hoped for. That rate would start next year, instead of 2019, as the original Senate bill called for. In the end, more of the Senate bill remained intact than did the House version passed last month. The final agreement includes the deletion of Obamacare’s individual mandate requiring Americans to purchase health insurance, a provision not in the House version. The Senate is expected to vote on the final bill as early as Monday with a House vote scheduled soon after. GOP leaders plan to release the bill’s final text later this week.