美国有线新闻 CNN 美国共和党公布税改议案 遭民主党强烈反对

美国共和党公布税改议案 遭民主党强烈反对

First subject today is tax reform. Major changes to the U.S. tax code haven't been made for more than 30 years. But that's a priority for congressional Republicans and U.S. President Donald Trump¹.

And yesterday, Republicans in the House of Representatives unveiled their plan for doing it. It's called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It has some similarities to the proposal made by the Trump administration in late September and one of them is reducing the number of tax brackets based on Americans' income.

Currently, there are seven brackets. Under the House Republican plan, that number would be reduced to four. And generally speaking, it would reduce the income taxes that Americans pay to the federal government, unless they make more than $500,000 per year.

The plan contains several other provisions aimed at reducing Americans' taxes. As far as businesses go, the proposal would reduce the corporate² tax rate, which is a tax on their profits. Currently, that rate is 35 percent. The House plan would reduce it to 20 percent.

Critics say lower taxes would mean less revenue for the federal government, and therefore, a greater deficit³. Supporters say lower taxes would increase economic growth, leading to more revenue and a smaller deficit. President Trump and some Republicans have said they like to have tax reform passed by Christmas, but it still has to clear hurdles⁴ in the House and Senate before it gets to the president's desk.

Some Republicans have expressed reservations about the plan, while some Democrats⁵ have said they want to kill it altogether.

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 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。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

5 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》