美国国家公共电台 NPR Some Tax-Cut Backers Urge Trump To Drop Full Overhaul, Go For Quick Win

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

If you filed for an extension on your taxes, you have something in common with the Trump¹ administration and with Congress. They've put off voting on a promised tax overhaul² until after they try again to replace the Affordable³ Care Act. NPR's John Ydstie reports.

JOHN YDSTIE, BYLINE⁴: Steve Moore, who was an economic adviser⁵ to the Trump campaign, is worried.

STEPHEN MOORE: You know, you get a period when you're first elected where you've got to rush and get things done before that window slams shut.

YDSTIE: But here we are in mid-April, Moore says. President Trump has no legislative⁶ victories. And his treasury⁷ secretary says a tax cut will have to wait until the fall. Moore says Trump needs a win - now.

MOORE: Get a tax cut done right now. Do something that's achievable. You ran on a corporate⁸ and business tax cut, get that done. This is taking too long. And it's getting harder to do as each week goes by.

YDSTIE: Moore does have some skin in this game. He's co-author of the tax overhaul plan Donald Trump ran on during the election. But nearly a hundred days into his administration, Trump hasn't sent Congress that or any other tax plan. Moore says the lack of a tax bill is already having negative effects.

MOORE: When I talk to investors⁹ in business and I say what's going on, why is the growth rate slowing, and why do we see less jobs, they say part of the explanation is we're getting nervous about whether this tax cut is going to happen at all.

YDSTIE: Jon Traub, a former Republican staff director at the tax writing Ways and Means Committee, who's now at the consulting firm Deloitte, says the outlines of a Trump tax bill are still unclear.

JON TRAUB: We're still waiting to figure out what President Trump is going to embrace.

YDSTIE: The biggest question is whether Trump will embrace the controversial border adjustment tax. It's a key element of a dramatic plan to overhaul the tax code supported by House Republican leaders. The proposed tax is attractive because it raises a huge amount of revenue by putting a 20 percent tax on all imports.

Meanwhile, it eliminates taxes on American exports. That's divided the U.S. business community. Not surprisingly, retailers¹⁰ like Wal-Mart who import products they sell hate it while companies like Boeing who export love it. Again, Jon Traub.

TRAUB: The president has given mixed signals on that issue. And I think it's fair to say without his active support, that proposal probably cannot pass the House or Senate.

YDSTIE: If Trump doesn't support the border adjustment tax, he would need to find some other way to raise the hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue needed to cut tax rates without adding to federal deficits¹¹. The White House has floated several ideas for getting that revenue, including a carbon tax, says Traub.

TRAUB: It shows how desperate they are to find a large source of revenue other than the border adjustable¹² tax as a way to finance lower corporate tax rates.

YDSTIE: But Steve Moore says it's time to stop worrying about whether tax cuts will add to federal deficits. And Moore says for now, Trump should forget about doing a big complicated tax overhaul.

MOORE: One of the lessons hopefully Republicans learned from the health care debate is keep it simple, stupid. The fewer movable parts, the easier it is to get it through Congress.

YDSTIE: And what would that look like? Well, cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 to 15 percent, an even lower tax rate on money U.S. companies bring back from overseas and requiring that some of that repatriated¹³ money be used to improve U.S. infrastructure¹⁴. Moore and other prominent Republicans pushing this idea say even some Democrats¹⁵ might support that. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF MARCUS STRICKLAND'S TWI-LIFE'S "CELESTELUDE")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

7 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

11 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

12 adjustable   

adj.可调整的，可校准的

参考例句：

• More expensive cameras have adjustable focusing.比较贵的照相机有可调焦距。
• The chair has the virtue of being adjustable.这种椅子具有可调节的优点。

13 repatriated   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The refugees were forcibly repatriated. 难民被强制遣送回国。
• Ancient artworks were repatriated from the US to Greece. 古代艺术品从美国遣送回希腊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》