Congress might just pass an astonishingly sensible tax deal

THE “SECRET CONGRESS” theory holds that bills which attract public attention are born to partisan rancour, endure a life of torture and usually die a miserable death. For a recent example, look only to the much-hyped bipartisan deal that sought to patch up America’s broken immigration system and steer much-needed funds to Ukraine. It took months of work to craft ; when it was unveiled on February 4th it barely lasted one business day before being left for dead. But the theory also holds that successful compromises happen all the time as long as no one makes a fuss over it.It is with some trepidation, then, that we mention the rather good bipartisan tax deal that the House of Representatives passed by an overwhelming margin of 357-70 on January 31st. (This article will be short to avoid attracting too much additional attention.) The $78bn package trades something Democrats want—more generous tax credits for families with children—for something Republicans want: more generous tax credits for businesses. It plans to completely pay for this by eliminating a tax credit unloved by anyone, a covid-era relief programme for firms that kept employees on staff that was notoriously abused by fraudsters (95% of the time, according to one whistleblower).