[WATCH] US: Senate approves most drastic changes to tax code in 30 years

The Senate approved the final version of the first overhaul of the US tax code in more than 30 years, early morning on Wednesday, giving Trump and congressional Republicans their most significant legislative victory of this year.

The bill passed along pary lines, 51-48 with the final result being announced by Vice president Mike Pence, who presided over the vote.

The House passed the bill earlier on Tuesday but in the senate, technical changes were made. Though the bill is set to return to the House on Wednesday for a revote, it is expected to pass once again.

The bill will then be passed on to Trump’s desk for his signature, before the Christmas holiday, delivering on the Republican Party’s promise to enact tax relief before the end of 2017.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer made his final pitch to vote against the bill at around midnight, saying that this is “some bill for the middle class,” noting that the heftiest provisions would help corporations.

Congratulations to Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Kevin Brady, Steve Scalise, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and all great House Republicans who voted in favor of cutting your taxes!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2017

The United States Senate just passed the biggest in history Tax Cut and Reform Bill. Terrible Individual Mandate (ObamaCare)Repealed. Goes to the House tomorrow morning for final vote. If approved, there will be a News Conference at The White House at approximately 1:00 P.M.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2017

Protestors could be heard during the final vote on Wednesday morning as they yelled “kill the bill, don’t kill us,” before they were escorted out by law enforcement officers before the start of the final vote.

House speaker Paul Ryan spoke earlier from the floor of the House before their first vote, saying that this was a “generational defining moment.”

“This is without question the single most important thing we can do to once again make America the best place to do business,” said the Wisconsin Republic.

Republicans are currently just hours away from officially collecting their first major win, one that delivers on Trump’s campaign promise to overhaul the US tax system and also nets the pledge to repeal at least part of the Affordable Care Act, in ending the penalty tied to Obamacare’s mandate for health insurance.

The policy

According to critics, the plan is heavily weighted to ease the tax burden of businesses rather than the middle class, as the corporate tax rate is dropped from 35% to 21%, repealing the corporate alternative minimum tax and almost doubling the standard deduction for individuals and restructures the way pass-through businesses are taxed.

The bill keeps seven personal income brackets and lowers the tax rate for most, including dropping the rate from 37% to 39.6%.

Here's a quick rundown:

Joint Committee on Taxation: The JCT found that all income groups will, on average, see a tax cut in 2019, though the projections worsen over time. In 2019, all taxpayers would see an 8% tax cut. In total, about 10 percent of the $1.5 trillion tax cut would go directly into middle households. Those making more than $500,000 would receive approximately 12 percent of the total tax cut. The JCT, however, found that by 2027 taxpayers earning up to $75,000 would receive a tax increase -- this would stem from the sunsetting individual rate cuts in the final GOP bill, along with the repeal of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate.

Tax Foundation: The bill will increase the debt by $448 billion over the next 10 years when scored on a dynamic basis (accounting for growth provisions in the bill.) This is a more optimistic view of things than other analyses -- the Tax Foundation is considered more aggressive with its assumptions for economic growth than other entities -- yet the legislation still clearly adds to the debt over 10 years, contrary to some Republican promises.

The analysis also showed the bill would boost gross domestic product by 1.7% on a long-term basis.

Tax Policy Center: The Tax Policy Center found that the final bill would reduce taxes on average for all income groups in 2018, with higher income houses receiving the largest average tax cuts per percentage of after-tax income. The largest cuts would go to taxpayers in the 95th to 99th percentiles of income. The TPC projected that individual taxes would be reduced on average by $1,600 in 2018, but by 2027 more than half of households would face an average tax increase of $180.