Ryan Makes Emphatic Plea for Tax Plan Seen ‘on Life Support’

  • Speaker predicts ‘drama’ on overhaul effort, gets it quickly
  • Bid to tax imports, exempt exports seen facing uphill battle

Rep. Roskam: U.S. Tax Reform Is Needed This Year

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Not long after House Speaker Paul Ryan offered a full-throated affirmation of his tax-overhaul plan, an influential conservative group announced a grassroots campaign against it and a Senate leader said a key part of the proposal is “on life support.”

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn was diagnosing Ryan’s plan to replace the U.S. corporate income tax with a new, “border-adjusted” levy on U.S. companies’ domestic sales and imports. The proposal has stirred sharp divisions among businesses: Retailers, automakers and oil refiners that rely on imported goods and materials oppose it, while export-heavy manufacturers support it.