News Briefs

The Wall Street Journal reports that Senate Republicans aim to preserve the tax deduction for household medical expenses, a deduction the House tax bill would eliminate. Senate Republicans are also considering delaying the start of the corporate tax rate cut but have yet to agree on any specifics. WSJ

Eric Morath of the Wall Street Journal writes that national demand for construction workers remains subdued despite the destruction caused by recent hurricanes. Morath points to a decline in construction job openings in September as recent evidence of soft labor demand, though home building has remained weak throughout the recovery from the Great Recession. WSJ

The Financial Times argues that debt and equity should be taxed in the same way under the Republican tax reform bill. The FT writes that under current law, interest on debt is tax deductible, thereby giving companies an incentive to finance themselves with debt rather than equity and creating instability in financial markets. FT