Politics

Likelihood that tax reform will get passed this year 'very, very high,' GOP Rep. Cole says

Key Points
  • Tax reform will take time to go through the legislative process, Rep. Tom Cole said, but he's optimistic.
  • He wants to see the legislative text and CBO estimate before committing to a "yes" vote.
  • However, he is prepared to run some risk to spark economic growth.
Rep. Cole: Likelihood of tax reform passing 'very high'
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Rep. Cole: Likelihood of tax reform passing 'very high'

Tax reform will take time to work through the legislative process, but there is a "very, very high" likelihood it will get passed this year, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., told CNBC on Friday.

An outline of President Donald Trump's plan was unveiled Wednesday.

The proposal, which White House officials touted as the "biggest tax cut" in U.S. history, includes the slashing of the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent.

However, critics are concerned about how much the cuts could add to the deficit.

Cole said whether or not he voted for Trump's plan depends on if he thought it would generate enough growth in a reasonable period to pay for itself.

"Until you actually have legislative text in front of you and a CBO [Congessional Budget Office] estimate about the real cost of it, it's pretty hard to commit to any specific thing," Cole said in an interview with "Power Lunch."

"We've been stumbling and bumbling along at 1.5 and 2 percent for a while. I think there's a broad consensus that we need to do some things that will spark economic growth and I'm certainly prepared to run some risk to get that done."

Trump's plan resembles aspects of the tax ideas he campaigned on last year. The right-learning Tax Foundation estimated that, even after accounting for growth, the Trump campaign plan would put a $2.6 trillion to $3.9 trillion hole in the budget over 10 years.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Watch: Former OMB Director Stockman on Trump's tax plan

David Stockman: Trump’s tax plan is ‘dead on arrival’ and Wall St. is ‘delusional’
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David Stockman: Trump’s tax plan is ‘dead on arrival’