Senator Johnson explains tax concerns, committee votes

WASHINGTON – In an interview with Bloomberg News on Nov. 29, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) explained his reasons for taking a procedural vote to advance tax reform legislation, and his concerns about the treatment of pass-through businesses in the bill itself. Following are excerpts from the interview. 

“We still have work to do, but President Trump made a pretty good case and we have been working with the administration and Senate Finance and Senate leadership and we have been making some real progress.”
 
“The problem in the House and Senate bill is so much of the tax relief is directed toward those big C-corps, which is only four percent of American businesses [and] only represent about 55 percent of taxable income. They are getting somewhere between 70 and 85 percent of the tax benefit. It is simply not equitable.”
 
“Everybody acknowledges it is a problem. President Trump committed to me that he’s going to fix it … so that gave me the confidence that I could let this proceed through committee.”
 
“The American economy is not even close to realizing its full potential. It needs a competitive tax system globally. We all realize we have to have pro-growth tax reform. Now we are in the legislative process, the sausage making. It is not pretty sometimes, but we are committed to achieving success.”