US Republican Senate passes $1.5 trillion tax overhaul

The Republicans secured a much-needed victory as the United States Senate passed a legislation to overhaul a nearly USD-1.5 trillion tax reform bill.

According to The Hill, after days of debates, the Senators finally voted 51-49 to pass the bill.

Going against the party leadership, Republican Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn) voted against the bill. Also, no Senator of the Democratic Party supported the legislation and quickly left after voting.

The House broke into applause after Vice President Mike Pence announced the bill had passed.

"I wanted to get to yes. But at the end of the day, I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe, based on the information I currently have, could deepen the debt burden on future generations," Corker, who is retiring after 2018, said, in a statement.

The new bill would repeal the ObamaCare health scheme started by former president Barack Obama in 2010.

US President Donald Trump has criticised the policy time and again and vowed to repeal and replace it after the Republican tax cut bill is signed into law.

The bill would also lower tax rates for individuals through 2025 and permanently cut the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent.

The bill's tax cuts for individuals are temporary in order to comply with budget rules that the measure can't add to the deficit after 10 years.

Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to cut taxes on businesses and individuals as part of the Republicans effort to overhaul the American tax system.

The most sweeping tax overhaul in three decades that slashes corporate rates was approved with 227 votes in favour and 205 against.

No Democrats voted for the bill, while 13 Republicans broke ranks to oppose it, The Hill reported.

"Passing this bill is the single biggest thing we can do to grow the economy, to restore opportunity and help these middle-income families who are struggling," The Hill quoted Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), as saying, ahead of the vote.

Trump hailed the efforts of Republicans in passing the bill in the lower chamber of the United States Congress.

"Congratulations to the House of Representatives for passing the #TaxCutsandJobsAct - a big step toward fulfilling our promise to deliver historic TAX CUTS for the American people by the end of the year!" Trump tweeted.

According to US media reports, the bill will reduce the number of individual tax brackets, slash the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent and eliminate a number of tax breaks and deductions. 

-ANI