Gov. Holcomb calls on GOP to approve federal tax legislation

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has joined 20 other Republican governors in calling for GOP leaders in Congress to approve a sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax code.

Holcomb and the governors sent a letter Thursday to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asking Republicans in both chambers to approve "meaningful tax reform legislation and send it to the president's desk," the (Northwest Indiana) Times reported .

"We've proven in our states that you can cut taxes, create jobs and generate budget surpluses all at the same time," the governors said in the letter. "If it can work in our states, it can work for America."

The governors also said that the tax plan needs to "allow entrepreneurs and small businesses more room to improve, invest and expand."

The letter follows approvals of separate proposals by the House last month and the Senate this month. But it does not address specific details of the tax legislation that lawmakers hope to merge and adopt by the end of the year.

U.S. Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana approved the Senate plan and Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana voted against it.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Taxation estimates that the Senate tax proposal will grow the economy by 0.8 percent per year over the next 10 years, and create budget deficits of $1 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office says the national debt is more than $20 trillion. The revenue shortfall from the plan would add to an anticipated $10 trillion growth in the national debt between 2018 and 2027, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com