Taxes

Don't believe tax reform polls, Americans 'hungry for something better,' says top House GOP tax writer

Key Points
  • The House Ways and Means chairman says Republicans on Capitol Hill and President Trump are united on taxes, unlike on health care.
  • "We are on track to deliver transformational, bold, tax reform this year," the Texas congressman predicts.
  • Brady plans to deliver a major speech on taxes at the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, on Wednesday.
Rep. Kevin Brady: We are on track to deliver bold tax reform this year
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Rep. Kevin Brady: We are on track to deliver bold tax reform this year

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady told CNBC on Tuesday that Republicans on Capitol Hill and President Donald Trump will be able to revamp the U.S. tax code this year.

"We are on track to deliver transformational, bold tax reform this year because President Trump and the House and Senate are working together to deliver on that timetable," Brady said.

"That didn't happen on health care," the Texas congressman said on "Squawk Box."

"While America is divided on the benefits of Obamacare, there's no one defending the status quo of this broken, complex, ugly tax code," Brady said.

"To me, it feels so much different than health care," he said.

Brady said support from the president is key to passing tax reform: "My sense is from President Trump is he's all in."

But are voters?

A Gallup poll this spring showed Americans who feel they pay too much in federal taxes dropped to 51 percent in April. That's down from 57 percent a year earlier.

Responding to possible wavering public opinion, Brady said, "In the town halls and round tables ... Americans are starved, hungry for something better than what we have."

Brady plans to deliver a major speech on taxes at the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, California on Wednesday.

On Aug. 16, 1986, at the ranch, President Ronald Reagan signed the tax reform package that he championed into law.

"Tax reform is hard. It's the challenge of a generation," said Brady. "But again, I don't think anyone can defend where we're at."