Republicans reached agreement on their tax reform legislation on Wednesday, as Democrats responded to their stunning Senate victory in Alabama by calling on Donald Trump’s party to postpone a vote on the legislation.

共和党人周三就他们的税收改革立法达成了一致，而民主党人在该党候选人令人震惊地赢得阿拉巴马州参议员选举后，呼吁唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)所属的政党推迟就这项立法举行表决。

Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives bridged the differences in their respective tax bills, settling on a reduction of the corporate tax rate to 21 per cent, from the present 35 per cent. Orrin Hatch, the Republican head of the Senate finance committee, said the party had secured enough votes to pass the legislation — a result that would hand Mr Trump his first big legislative victory as president.

参议院和众议院的共和党人弥合了各自税改提案的差异，同意将公司税从目前的35%降至21%。参议院财政委员会(Senate Finance Committee)的共和党主席奥林•哈奇(Orrin Hatch)表示，该党已争取到足够多的票数来通过这项立法;若果真通过，它将给特朗普的总统任期带来第一个重大立法胜利。

The Republicans are hoping to vote on the legislation next week. But Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, called on Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate majority leader, to postpone the vote until Doug Jones, the Democrat who won the Alabama race, takes up his seat, which is unlikely before January.

共和党人希望在下周就这项立法举行表决。但是参议院的民主党头号人物查克•舒默(Chuck Schumer)呼吁参议院多数党领袖、共和党人米奇•麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)推迟投票，直到刚刚赢得阿拉巴马州参议员选举的民主党人道格•琼斯(Doug Jones)到参议院就职;这意味着最早也要到明年1月份。

“It would be wrong for Senate Republicans to jam through this tax bill without giving the newly elected senator from Alabama the opportunity to cast his vote,” Mr Schumer said. “Our hope is that Mitch McConnell will hear what the voters in the suburbs of Alabama said: ‘Help us!’”

“如果参议院共和党人强行通过这个税收法案，而不让阿拉巴马州新当选的参议员投票，那将是错误的，”舒默表示。“我们希望麦康奈尔能听到阿拉巴马州郊区选民的呼声：‘帮帮我们!’”

Three Republican sources said the party had reached a deal in principle. In addition to the lower corporate tax rate — which Mr Trump originally wanted to be 15 per cent before that was judged to be unrealistic — the bill would cut the top income tax rate from 39.6 per cent to 37 per cent, in a move that will increase criticism that the legislation caters more to the wealthy than to middle class voters.

共和党方面的三名消息人士称，该党原则上达成了协议。除了较低的公司所得税率(特朗普本来希望降至15%，但这被判断为不现实)以外，该法案还将最高一档所得税税率从39.6%降至37%，此举将会加大有关这项立法更加照顾富人、而不是中产阶级选民的批评。