US Republican senator Ron Johnson comes out against tax bill

Washington, Nov 16 (IANS) US Republican senator Ron Johnson has said he will not vote for the current Senate tax bill, becoming the first GOP senator to formally oppose the legislation.

"If they can pass it without me, let them," Johnson, senator from the US state of Wisconsin, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

"I'm not going to vote for this tax package."

The Republican senator said the tax bill unfairly benefits corporations more than other types of businesses.

"When you're going to do a tax reform, you have to treat them equitably so they can maintain their competitive position here at home as we're making them competitive globally," he said.

While Republicans have a majority of 52 seats in the Senate, they can only afford to lose two votes of Republican senators to pass the tax bill without any support from Democrats.

Many Democrats have expressed opposition to the tax bill as Senate Republicans would include a provision to repeal the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, to their tax plan.

The Senate Finance Committee, the tax-writing committee, is expected to vote on the tax bill this week, with a full Senate vote expected after the Thanksgiving recess.

Johnson understands that Republicans could treat him harshly if he stops their tax bill from passing in December, according to the Journal.

"I'm giving them fair warning to do a good tax bill. I've been giving them fair warning for months," he said.