U.S. House Republicans on Thursday passed a bill to cut taxes on businesses and individuals, the biggest step yet in the GOP’s effort to alter the country’s tax system. The House plan cuts the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent and lessens the number of personal tax brackets to four from seven.
Republicans are attempting to pass their tax reform plans by Christmas, but Senate Republicans, who have a less robust majority than in the House, will first have to pass their version of the bill.
In response, the dollar was a touch firmer, with the dollar index steady at 93.911 at 6:54 a.m. HK/SIN after rising as high as 93.998 in the Thursday session. Against the yen, the greenback edged up to trade at 113.03.
Meanwhile, U.S. data released on Thursday was upbeat. Industrial production grew 0.9 percent in October, compared to the 0.5 percent forecast.
