No tax cuts for Christmas? Trump might delay bill signing

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump might wait until next year to sign the tax bill into law, delaying $120 billion in automatic cuts to popular programs such as Medicare and sparing Republicans from having to explain them in an election year.

Here's why: If Trump signs the tax bill this month, it could trigger steep automatic spending cuts early next year to a raft of programs. But if Trump waits until January to sign the bill, the spending cuts would be delayed until 2019, giving lawmakers a full year to prevent them.

Congress gave final approval to the $1.5 trillion tax package Wednesday.

The bill-signing delay wouldn't affect taxpayers.

It is, however, another example of how politicians from both major parties routinely flout a law that was meant to instill fiscal discipline.