Senate Republicans release new version of tax bill

Washington, Dec 2 (IANS) Senate Republican leaders have released a new version of their tax plan that incorporates a number of changes that lawmakers sought in order to support the bill, the media reported on Saturday.

The changes in the "substitute amendment" released by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch on Friday night include an increase in the deduction for pass-through business income from 17.4 per cent to 23 per cent, reports The Hill magazine.

These changes are paid for in several ways, including the restoration of the alternative minimum tax, which was initially repealed in the bill.

The new version of the bill, which stands at 479 pages, was panned by Democrats for being released close to the final vote, without much time to review.

Democrats received a copy earlier in the day and noted that it includes some hand-written changes.

Democrats also criticised specific provisions that were added to the bill, such as one that they said would benefit Wall Street and another that they argued was targeted to exempt conservative Hillsdale College from an excise tax on university endowments.

Republican leaders were racing on Thursday night and Friday morning to find support for the bill, hoping to avoid a repeat of the health care bill debacle earlier this year that left them empty handed.