Trump signs biggest tax overhaul into law

United States President Donald Trump has signed the Republicans' massive USD 1.5 trillion tax overhaul into law, before leaving for his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for the winter holidays.

In addition to this, the US President has also approved a short-term spending bill to keep the government open through January 19 and provide USD 4 billion to upgrade the nation's missile defenses, reported CNN.

"I was going to wait for a formal signing sometime in early January, but then I watched the news this morning and they were all saying, 'Will he keep his promise, will he sign it by Christmas? And I called downstairs and said get it ready, we have to sign it now," Trump said.

 

During the signing, Trump spoke at length and thanked Republicans in Congress for getting the legislation to his desk and predicting it would help the economy.

"It's going to be a tremendous thing for the American people. It's going to be fantastic for the economy. It's going to keep companies from leaving our shores and opening up in other countries," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The bill's signing ends the president's first year in office on a high note.

The biggest rewrite of the federal tax code since the Reagan administration would permanently drop the corporate tax from 35 percent to 21 percent, double the deduction millions of families claim on their annual returns, cut taxes in 2018 for the vast majority of households and make a whole array of other changes taking effect in a matter of weeks, according to the reports.

The White House and Republicans have promised that the tax cuts will lead to more hiring and higher wages.

Trump continued to tout it as a win a for the middle class.

"I consider this very much a bill for the middle class and a bill for jobs, and jobs are produced through companies and corporations, and you see that happening," he said.

"Corporations are literally going wild over this, I think even beyond my expectations, so far beyond my expectations.

Democrats had opposed the bill as a giveaway to the wealthy that would add USD 1.5 trillion (USD 1.94 trillion) to the USD 20 trillion national debt during the next decade, the report said.

After signing the two bills, a couple of hours later, the President took to Twitter stating, "Today, it was my great honour to sign the largest TAX CUTS and reform in the history of our country.