Trump signs sweeping tax overhaul, sealing major victory
Updated | By AFP
President Donald Trump has signed into law a sweeping overhaul of the US tax code.
This follows two days after the Republican plan was adopted by Congress in what is considered a major political victory for Trump.
Making good on a vow to push through the tax cuts before Christmas, Trump endorsed the bill shortly before departing for a year-end break at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, pulling forward a formal signing initially planned for January.
"I watched the news this morning and they were all saying, will he keep his promise, will he sign it by Christmas?" Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office.
"And I called downstairs and said 'Get it ready, we have to sign it now.'"
Trump this week celebrated his first major legislative victory since taking office a year ago as Congress passed the $1.5 trillion overhaul, set to impact every corner of the economy through dramatic tax cuts for corporations and temporary reductions for individuals.
"As you know, $3.2 trillion in tax cuts for American families, "Trump said. "And they're going to start to see that because we're signing today."
He added that "we're going to bring back probably $4 trillion from overseas," and said corporations "are literally going wild over" the prospect.
"This is something that Republicans wanted for years and Democrats wanted for years and yet it never got done. Now it's being done."
Opposition Democrats have branded the tax plan a giveaway to the wealthiest that risks blowing a hole in the national debt, and a CNN poll showed that 55 percent of Americans oppose the tax reform.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, however, thinks they will be won over once they start to reap the benefits. He proclaimed immediately after Trump's signing: "The biggest tax reform in a generation is now the law of the land.
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