Senate GOP Passes Amendment to Repeal State and Local Tax Deduction
Posted on Oct 20, 2017
With a 52-47 vote, Senate Republicans passed an amendment to the budget resolution to repeal the state and local tax deduction, which allows federal filers to deduct taxes paid for their real estate, personal property, state income, and sales taxes. The measure is expected to raise $1.3 trillion over the next ten years. Opponents of the move are critical of the fact that only individual filers are affected, and that corporations will still be allowed to take advantage of the deduction. Senate votes to eliminate state and local tax...
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Senate Approves Budget, Easing Path Toward Tax Reform Legislation
Posted on Oct 19, 2017
The Senate approved a budget for 2018 with language permitting a simple majority vote on tax legislation through reconciliation. The budget language allows tax legislation to add up to $1.5 trillion dollars to the deficit over a decade, which the budget blueprint balances by assuming greater economic growth, cuts in spending and an accounting method that does not include Social Security. With Republican control of the Senate, the budget resolution allows for the passage of tax reform legislation without any votes from Senate Democrats. The Senate budget blueprint will now be voted on by the...
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McCain Announces Support for Budget Resolution
Posted on Oct 18, 2017
Sen. John McCain buoyed GOP tax reform hopes by announcing his support for the Senate budget resolution, set for a vote later this week. Debate on the resolution began midday Tuesday following a 50-47 vote, split along party lines, to move the process forward. While Sen. John Thune expressed optimism toward passing the resolution, some Senate Republicans remain uncommitted, including Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Bob Corker, and Rand Paul, the latter of whom vehemently opposes the measure unless substantial spending cuts are included in its language. Statement by SASC Chairman John McCain...
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Trump Tempers Tax Reform Timing Expectations
Posted on Oct 17, 2017
President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, at an October 16th White House news conference, acknowledged that the tax code rewrite may not occur by year’s end, though the goal remains to accomplish reform in 2017. With the release of a detailed tax plan still pending, Republicans are faced with disputes regarding how to tax corporations, the fate of the estate tax, and how to pay for the reform plan, as well as an interparty struggle over the proposed repeal of the state and local tax deduction. Speaker Paul Ryan, however, remains optimistic, predicting the House will pass...
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Senate Republicans to Vote on Fiscal Year 2018 Budget
Posted on Oct 16, 2017
Senate Republicans anticipate voting on the fiscal year 2018 budget this week, allowing their tax plan to add up to $1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next ten years. The resolution will also contain provisions allowing the GOP to pass the tax reform bill, promised to be brought to the floor by year’s end, by a simple majority and avoid a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. While it is expected that Senate Republicans will be able to pass the budget based on their slim majority, there is little room for party defections, particularly as Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is likely to oppose the...
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Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on International Tax Reform
Posted on Oct 4, 2017
Led by Chairman Hatch, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on international tax reform, following the release of the Republican tax reform framework. The hearing and witnesses focused on the competitive disparity between foreign multinationals and domestic multinationals. The witnesses differed on whether a switch to a territorial system or stronger earning stripping provisions were the appropriate response. Bret Wells, the George R. Butler Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center Mr. Wells began by highlighting Senator Hatch’s commitment to corporate integration and...
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