House GOP releases Trump-backed bill to extend president's tax cuts, expand child tax credit

The House Ways and Means Committee on Friday released a portion of President Donald Trump’s new tax agenda, detailing legislation that seeks to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) passed under the president’s first term.

Key elements of the proposal include raising the child tax credit from $2,000 to $2,500, increasing the estate tax exemption threshold from approximately $13.9 million to $15 million, and working to make the Trump-era tax cuts permanent. The current tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2025, and Republicans warn that failing to extend them would effectively result in a tax hike of more than 20 percent for millions of Americans.

"Seven years ago, the Trump tax cuts sparked an economic boom and provided needed relief to working families. Pro-family, pro-worker tax provisions are the heart of President Trump’s economic agenda that puts working families ahead of Washington and will create jobs, grow wages and investment and help usher in a new golden age of prosperity," said House Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith in a statement on Friday. "Ways and Means Republicans have spent two years preparing for this moment, and we will deliver for the American people."

One thing absent from the draft legislation is a proposed new tax bracket for millionaires, which the president has publicly said he is considering. According to a source familiar with Trump’s thoughts on the matter who spoke to Fox News, the president was considering a pr-TCJA 2.6 percent tax hike on individuals making $2.5 million or more annually. However, the bill is still expected to have significant changes made before a final vote is taken. The committee will debate and advance the bill on Tuesday.

The package is also expected to include other Trump-backed proposals, such as eliminating federal taxes on tips, overtime wages, and Social Security payments.

Republicans are planning to use the budget reconciliation process to pass the measure, which would allow them to bypass the Senate filibuster and pass the bill with a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes needed. The same threshold applies in the House, though the GOP majority there remains narrow.

House Ways and Means Committee preliminary tax bill by Hayden on Scribd