In the early morning on Saturday, a milestone was reached in Washington by the tax reform of Donald Trump. The Senate voted, 51 to 49, a version of the law that should reduce taxes businesses and individuals. President Trump has never been so close to holding his big election promise of tax reform.

The last major tax reform dates back to 1986 under Ronald Reagan. It will now be necessary for the text adopted by the upper house to be harmonized with that already voted a few days ago by the House of Representatives. This exercise called "reconciliation" must take place by Christmas, so as to present, on the desk of Donald Trump for his signature, the first major law of his mandate. This Saturday, the US president welcomed the adoption of the project. "We have come close to giving massive tax cuts to working families across America," he wrote on his Twitter account. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas. "

Republicans who have a slim majority in the Senate have virtually remained united. Thanks to last-minute haggling, centrist politicians, with one exception, followed Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the Senate. Bob Corker, a Tennessee senator, is the only Republican to vote with the 48 Democrats. He considers that the text painstakingly elaborated urgently will aggravate the budget deficit.

In fact, by lowering corporate income taxes from 35% to 20% from 2019 and reducing personal income taxes, Republicans who are supposed to embody fiscal discipline eliminate some $ 1.5 trillion tax revenue over 10 years. According to the commission charged with calculating the impact of the laws on federal finances, the surplus growth resulting from the tax cuts will only compensate one-third of this shortfall for the Treasury.

No obligation to subscribe to private health insurance

By easing the tax on corporate profits, Republicans believe they are pushing multinationals to repatriate much of their $ 2 trillion in foreign profits, which could boost Treasury revenues in the near term. In addition, the text provides for virtually tax-free future profits earned abroad by US corporations.

The Democrats all voted against the text, arguing that it was essentially a tax giveaway to the rich and the corporations. They also protested, in vain, against the secret and nocturnal dealings that allowed some hesitant senators to add expensive provisions to their lobbyist friends, in order to rally behind the final draft.

The obligation for Americans to take out private health insurance if their employer does not provide one, was eliminated in passing. It's a stab at "Obamacare," Barack Obama's big health reform. This will certainly save big spending to individuals close to retirement whose premiums have massively increased in recent years. On the other hand, this provision will encourage younger people, often those in better health, not to insure themselves. This will result in a deterioration in the quality of the pool of insureds that will drive up the premiums of older and less healthy people.