Second Republican Opposes Senate Tax Plan

As the Republican leadership in the Senate races to pass a sweeping tax reform bill this week, they're running into opposition from their own members. Two weeks ago, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson came out against the bill in its present form, saying it favors large corporations over small businesses, CNN reports. And today, Steve Daines, R-Mont., joined his colleague as a "no" vote. "Sen. Daines has concerns with how the tax bill looks at main street versus large corporations," an aide to the Montana Republican said. "The Senator wants changes to the tax cut bill that ensure main street businesses are not put at a competitive disadvantage against large corporations." Both senators want the bill to do more for small businesses, which, under the current plan, will see a higher effective tax rate than corporations.

Daines and Johnson are currently working with Republican leaders and the White House to fix the provision on so-called "pass-through" businesses, the Hill reports. With just 52 seats in the Senate, Republicans can't afford to lose another vote if Johnson and Daines remain "no" votes, but several other Republicans are still on the fence, New York Magazine reports. James Lankford, Bob Corker, Jeff Flake, and John McCain have all voiced concerns about how the bill will grow the deficit, and Jerry Moran has expressed reservations about getting rid of the Obamacare individual mandate. Susan Collins, meanwhile, is opposed to eliminating the estate tax and lowering the rate for people making more than $1 million a year, per Bloomberg. (More US Senate stories.)