--- title: Republicans Pin Their Hopes on Tax Reform description: President Trump and congressional Republicans are pinning their political hopes on tax reform, but they are still aways from consensus. canonical: https://time.com/4937125/republicans-pin-their-hopes-on-tax-reform/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-12T16:11:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:22:40.272Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republicans Pin Their Hopes on Tax Reform og:description: President Trump and congressional Republicans are pinning their political hopes on tax reform, but they are still aways from consensus. og:url: https://time.com/4937125/republicans-pin-their-hopes-on-tax-reform/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republicans Pin Their Hopes on Tax Reform twitter:description: President Trump and congressional Republicans are pinning their political hopes on tax reform, but they are still aways from consensus. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Republicans Pin Their Hopes on Tax Reform by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 12, 2017 4:11 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 12, 2017 4:11 PM UTC President Trump and congressional Republicans are pinning their political hopes for their first year of unified GOP control of government on tax reform, but they are still a ways away from consensus. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill and officials from the White House are still split on whether to try to accomplish tax reform with just Republican votes (requiring the use of budget reconciliation in the Senate) or with Democrats through regular order, with a 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Trump is meeting with a bipartisan group of Senators Tuesday in hopes to trying to forge good will. But most of the details for the plan are far from ironed-out. Trump hopes for a 15 percent corporate tax rate, with budget-conscious Republicans worry about accomplishing that without blowing a hole in the deficit. Other details, such as whether and how to include personal tax rates in the package, are far from agreed to. At the end of the day, GOP lawmakers are depending on the tax bill to show voters that they can govern effectively and fear suffering the consequences at the ballot box if they cannot get it done. But even if they succeed, Republicans will need to find a way to sell what is likely to be a predominantly corporate tax cut to voters. Some Trump lawyers wanted Jared Kushner sidelined. Trump’s voter commission meets amid increasingly vocal opposition. 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