With Rubio, Corker Back on Board, G.O.P. Speeds Ahead With Tax Overhaul

On Friday, as Republicans released details about the final bill, it became clear that the agreement would provide deep and longstanding tax cuts for businesses, while providing slightly more generous tax breaks to low- and middle-income Americans by reducing some benefits for higher earners.

New details from the text show that lawmakers offset last-minute changes to the bill -- such as eliminating the corporate alternative minimum tax and lowering the top individual tax rate to 37 percent from 39.6 percent today -- through slight adjustments, not sweeping changes. It was still unclear how they were going to pay for the entire package, which can add no more than $1.5 trillion to the deficit if it is to pass without Democrat support.

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A spokeswoman for Mr. Rubio said the senator will vote yes on the legislation, given the changes that were made. The final bill will allow families who owe no federal income taxes to still claim up to $1,400 of the $2,000 child tax credit, up from $1,100 in the original version.

The move to satisfy Mr. Rubio appears to have been financed, at least in part, by reducing the ability of higher earners to take the $2,000 per child tax credit. The Senate bill lowers the income cap for families who could claim the credit by phasing out the benefits of the credit once families earn $400,000 a year, down from the $500,000 in the original Senate bill.

The bill's text, which was signed by Republican negotiators from the chambers' conference committee on Friday, includes few major changes from the version that passed the Senate earlier this month. The 2025 expiration date for the individual tax cuts remains, as does the estate tax, which would apply to fewer Americans down the road. At the center of the $1.5 trillion bill are large tax cuts for corporations and other businesses, which Republican lawmakers say will create jobs, investment and economic growth.

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Owners of so-called pass-through businesses, who pay taxes on their profits at the owner's individual tax rate, would receive a slightly less generous tax break than the original bills called for, allowing a 20 percent deduction on profits they earn. That deduction would phase out -- with some exceptions -- starting at $315,000 of income for couples. The Senate bill included a larger deduction, 23 percent, and a higher phase-out point, $500,000 for couples.

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The bill appears to be heading toward the finish line but at least three other Republican senators remained publicly undecided on Friday, including Mike Lee of Utah, who has allied with Mr. Rubio in pressing for an expanded child credit, and Jeff Flake of Arizona, who has been trying to extract commitments from Republican leadership related to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. Senator Susan Collins of Maine has also expressed reservations about the bill's reduction in the top individual tax rate and pushed for party leaders to support measures to bolster individual health care markets as a condition for her vote.