McConnell Confirms Intent to Use Budget Reconciliation to Pass Tax Reform
Posted on Aug 2, 2017 in News
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in response to the Senate Democratic Caucus’s August 1st letter urging bipartisan tax reform, stated that the GOP will need to utilize the reconciliation process to avoid a Senate filibuster. He suggested that the demands set forth by Senate Democrats indicated that they did not share Republican priorities regarding tax reform. However,...
White House Legislative Director Hopes for Bipartisan Support for Tax Reform Bill
Posted on Aug 2, 2017 in News
Legislative Affairs director Marc Short, acknowledging that the reconciliation process leaves little room for error, stated that he is hopeful some Democrats, including members of the Blue Dog Coalition and the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House, as well as red state Democrats in the Senate, will support the passage of a tax reform bill. Short expects that tax reform legislation will...
Senate Democrats Call for Bipartisan Tax Reform
Posted on Aug 2, 2017 in News
In a letter to the President and GOP Congressional leaders, the 45 of the 48 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus urged abandonment of the reconciliation process in favor of bipartisan tax reform. The Senate Democrats stated, however, that they would not support a bill that grants tax breaks to the wealthy or that adds to the deficit and thereby jeopardizes critical programs such...
Abandonment of Border Adjustment Tax may lead to Shallower, Shorter Tax Cuts
Posted on Jul 31, 2017 in News
The GOP’s decision to abandon the controversial border adjustment tax (BAT) increases the chances that ensuing tax cuts will be both temporary and shallower than envisioned. Without the BAT’s estimated $1 Trillion in revenue, and with no other plan to raise significant funds, analysts estimate the lowest possible revenue-neutral rate for corporate taxes is about 27%, significantly...
House Ways and Means Committee Democrats Critical of Republicans’ Joint Statement on Tax Reform
Posted on Jul 28, 2017 in News
In response to Congressional Republicans’ and the Trump Administration’s unveiling of their joint statement on taxes, several Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee issued condemnatory press releases: Ranking Member Richard Neal expressed his disappointment over the Republicans’ decision to exclude Democrats from the tax reform process, stating that partisan tax...
Joint Statement on Tax Reform Issued; BAT Abandoned
Posted on Jul 27, 2017 in Uncategorized
Today, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) issued a joint statement on tax reform that sets out a broad framework for moving forward on tax reform. Most notably,...
Business Community Urges Congress to Pass Tax Reform
Posted on Jul 25, 2017 in International Tax, News
Corporate America is encouraging Congress to pass tax reform legislation as quickly as possible. Amid apprehension that tax reform could experience delays similar to those facing other items on the Republican agenda, business leaders have pressed congressional leaders to move forward with a budget resolution to facilitate tax reform. Business groups will launch campaigns during...
Ways and Means Committee Hears Testimony on Simplifying the Broken Tax Code
Posted on Jul 21, 2017 in Pass-through Taxation, Uncategorized
On Wednesday July 19th, the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee, led by Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam, held a hearing on tax reform, titled “How Tax Reform Will Simplify Our Broken Tax Code and Help Individual Families.” The hearing focused on individual tax reform. Subcommittee Chairman Roskam, in his opening statement, touted the introduction of a postcard-sized ...
Republicans Close to a Unified Tax Reform Framework
Posted on Jul 21, 2017 in News
House Speaker Paul Ryan, addressing an audience at the New Balance shoe factory in Massachusetts, stated that White House and Congressional leaders are nearing agreement on a tax reform framework. Speaker Ryan suggested that lowering the current corporate tax rate of 35 percent to a 20 percent rate, through the closing of loopholes and special interest deductions, is a realistic...
House Committee Approves 2018 Budget Resolution
Posted on Jul 20, 2017 in News
The House Budget Committee, with members voting along party lines, voted to send the recently introduced budget resolution to the House floor for consideration by the full chamber. Opposition is anticipated not only from Democratic members, but also from within the GOP rank and file, with Republican moderates disagreeing with the proposed steep cuts and Republican conservatives...
House Republicans Disclose Budget Plan
Posted on Jul 18, 2017 in Employee Benefits, News
The House GOP has unveiled its budget plan, calling for extensive cuts in federal spending, including federal employee benefits, financial industry regulations and welfare expenditures, that total over $200B. Along with anticipated accelerated economic growth, these cuts are intended to produce a balanced budget over the next decade. While divisions among the House Republicans make...
Tax Reform Hearing Addressing Benefits for Small Businesses and Job Creation set for July 13
Posted on Jul 6, 2017 in News
Peter Roskam, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee, has announced that the next hearing on tax reform will be held on July 13th at 10:00 AM. The hearing will focus on how tax reform will benefit small businesses and help them create jobs, featuring testimony from small business owners. Roskam Announces Tax Policy Subcommittee Hearing on How Tax Reform Will Help...
Cohn Optimistic for Tax Reform Regardless of Health Bill Progress
Posted on Jul 5, 2017 in News
Gary Cohn, the White House chief economic advisor, is confident that tax reform will occur in September regardless of any healthcare reform bill progress, stating that the Trump Administration will be 100% engaged in tax reform after the August recess. Cohn also defended the administration’s goal of 3% gross domestic product growth, calling it “very realistic.” Tax reform is coming in...
House Freedom Caucus and Tuesday Group at Odds Over 2018 Budget Resolution
Posted on Jul 5, 2017 in News
Amidst debate surrounding major spending cuts to the budget, the House Budget Committee canceled recent plans to send a budget resolution for fiscal year 2018, a prerequisite to passing tax reform in the Senate without support of Democrats, to the House floor. The conservative Freedom Caucus will only support a budget resolution if it includes cuts to welfare programs such as...
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Opposes Long-Term Budgeting Abuse
Posted on Jun 28, 2017 in News
In a June 22nd press release the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget both acknowledged the beneficial aspects of long-term budgeting and denounced its irresponsible use to add to the country’s growing debt crisis. Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee, stated that moving to a 20-year budget window could provide needed guidance to lawmakers in drafting legislation and...