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...
White House Reconsidering Corporate Tax Rate Goal
Posted on Jul 19, 2017 in News
The Trump Administration, according to White House officials and advisors, is considering a corporate tax rate of 20 percent to 25 percent. While this estimate is higher than the 15 percent rate set forth in the Administration’s one-page tax proposal issued in April, one senior administration official explained that the April figure was a starting point for negotiations, with the...
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...
House Ways and Means Committee Plans to Permit Interest Deductions for Small Businesses
Posted on Jul 17, 2017 in News, Pass-through Taxation
Rep. Peter Roskam, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Tax Policy for the House Ways and Means Committee, has commented that they are “actively working” to exempt small businesses from the provision contemplated by the House Republican Blueprint that would deny deductions for net interest expense. The Chairman noted that they are sensitive to those who have no access to capital except...
Strategists Predict Regardless of Healthcare Reform’s Outcome, Tax Reform will Happen
Posted on Jul 17, 2017 in News
Political strategists predict a tax reform bill will be signed into law next year, regardless of the outcome of efforts to enact a healthcare bill. Their expectations are for smaller corporate and individual tax cuts than initially hoped, with a new corporate tax rate around 23 percent and individual cuts focused on the lower and middle class taxpayers. However, tax reform efforts...
Roskam Announces Fourth House Ways and Means Committee Hearing on Tax Reform
Posted on Jul 13, 2017 in News
Peter Roskam, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee, has announced that the Committee will hold its fourth hearing on tax reform, titled “How Tax Reform will Simplify our Broken Tax Code and Help Individual Families,” on July 19th at 2:00 pm. The hearing will focus on simplifying the tax code, reducing the burden on American families and individuals, and...
Senate Finance Committee Announces Tax Reform Hearing
Posted on Jul 12, 2017 in News
The Senate Finance Committee, led by Chairman Orrin Hatch, will convene a tax reform hearing on July 18 at 9:00 am titled “Comprehensive Tax Reform: Prospects and Challenges.” The hearing, featuring testimony from four former Treasury Assistant Secretaries for Tax Policy, will examine the challenges faced by Congress in enacting tax reform to promote economic growth and...
Global Minimum Tax Under Consideration for Tax Reform
Posted on Jul 12, 2017 in News
The Senate is reportedly exploring the possibility of a global minimum tax, an idea which has historically had some bipartisan support. One approach being considered is a version of the provision that was included in the 2014 tax reform legislation proposed by Dave Camp, the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. That proposal, which generally had the effect of a...
Legislative Affairs Chief Predicts Unified Tax Plan in July
Posted on Jul 11, 2017 in News
White House legislative affairs chief Marc Short has stated that the Trump Administration intends to have a unified tax reform plan in place prior to Congress’ August recess, accelerating Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s previously stated target of early September. White House spokesperson Natalie Strom confirmed the July goal, adding that the unified proposal will be used to ready...
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...
Brady Touts “Big, Bold, Permanent Tax Reform”
Posted on Jun 29, 2017 in News
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, during an interview with Stuart Varney of the Fox Business Network, identified four of the most important aspects of tax reform as: (1) cutting the corporate tax rate; (2) cutting the small business tax rate; (3) cutting the individual tax rate; and (4) full and unlimited expensing. Brady ensured that, despite time concerns, Congress...
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...