Eversheds Sutherland Tax Reform Law Blog
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Senator Hatch Requests Comments from the Public on Tax Reform

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch has released a letter asking industry groups and other stakeholders for recommendations on tax reform. Comments must be submitted to taxreform2017@finance.senate.gov by July 17. Read more:  GOP chairman seeks tax reform recommendations
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Freedom Caucus Chairman Opposes Border Adjustment Tax, Says Tax Reform must Occur by September

Mark Meadows, Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, stated that the border adjustment tax is the main impediment to tax reform, with 70-80 Representatives opposed to the provision. Rep. Meadows indicated that legislation must be enacted by September if tax reform is to occur and meet retroactive requirements, suggesting he believes tax reform effective for 2017 is still a possibility. Rep. Meadows: Border adjustment tax is ‘stumbling block’ to tax reform
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Automotive Industry Leaders Opposed to Border Adjustment Tax

Representatives in the automotive industry met with Gary Cohn, the White House National Economic Council Director, yesterday to discuss the House Republicans’ proposed border adjustment tax. President of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, Cody Lusk, expressed the industry’s dissatisfaction with the plan, which they believed would drive up the cost of every vehicle by a substantial amount. Likewise, the CEO of the Association of Global Automakers stated that it was “imperative” that the BAT not be part of any tax reform initiative.   Read more here: Auto industry...
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Border Tax Adjustment Phase-In Not Popular with Senate Republicans

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady’s proposal to introduce the border adjustment tax (BAT) with a five-year phase-in has not been well received by Senate Republicans. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch does not think there is enough time for the phase-in and Senator John Thune believes that a five-year phase-in will not make the BAT any more popular than it is now. Read more:  Brady’s Border Tax Phase-In Not Converting Senate Skeptics
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Rep. Brady Proposes 5-Year Phase-in for Border Adjustment Tax

Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, Rep. Kevin Brady, proposed a five-year transition to switch to a border-adjusted regime. Companies would be able to deduct most of their imported costs initially with a slow phase out of the deductions. The phase-in would be applied equally to the treatment of exports, which would gradually become fully exempt. Read more here:  Brady Tries to Soften Border Tax by Proposing Five-Year Phase-In
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House Republicans Remain Divided Over Border Adjustment Tax

With the GOP still looking for its first major legislative accomplishment under the Trump Administration, Conservative members of the House are calling for party leadership to abandon the proposed border adjustment tax in order to facilitate progress on tax cuts. Tim Phillips, president of the Koch-brothers backed “Americans for Prosperity” contends that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady is alone in his resolve to include a border adjustment tax, the most significant impediment to reform, in any proposed legislation. Brady has stated that he is open to border adjustment tax...
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Heritage Foundation Supports the House Blueprint Without a Border Adjustment Tax

The conservative Heritage Foundation contends that the House tax reform Blueprint plan will successfully promote job creation and economic growth through lower corporate tax rates; immediate capital expensing; and the removal of special credits, deductions, and exemptions, without need for the controversial Border Adjustment Tax (“BAT”). The Heritage Foundation predicts the BAT would have a negative impact on GDP growth and states that it carries too much unnecessary risk for implementation. Time to Move Past the Proposed Border Adjustment Tax
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PIMCO’s Chief Investor Skeptical Tax Reform Agenda will be met

Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC ‘s global chief investment officer, Dan Ivascyn, doubts President Trump’s tax and regulatory reform will ultimately achieve his ambitious goals. Ivascyn predicts tax reform will feature cuts rather than broad-based policy changes, due in part to the White House’s and Congress’ focus on revenue. Additionally, his forecasted economic growth rate of 2.5% is more conservative than the Trump Administration’s 3% objective. Ivascyn Sees No Sweeping Tax Reform, Infrastructure Spending
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Senator Hatch States that White House, Senate and House Republicans are in Agreement on 80% of Tax Reform Proposals

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch spoke at Bloomberg Global Transfer Pricing Conference on June 7, stating that the White House, Senate and House Republicans are in agreement on roughly 80 percent of the key issues. The Senator reiterated his commitment to lowering tax rates and shifting to a territorial system but noted that the proposals were still in the planning stage and that nothing, including the House Republican’s Border Adjustment Tax proposal, was off the table. Senator Hatch also stated that while he didn’t believe revenue neutrality was a necessity for tax reform, he...
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House Freedom Caucus Calls for Summer Session to Address Tax Reform

House Freedom Caucus Calls for Summer Session to Address Tax Reform The conservative House Freedom Caucus is urging House leaders to forgo the summer hiatus and instead remain in session to progress tax reform. The group’s stance follows on the heels of news that President Trump would seek the support of Democrats to press his tax reform agenda. Freedom Caucus calls on Congress to work through summer recess to pass tax reform
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Congress to Address Tax Reform in September

Tax reform will take center stage before Congress in September, according to White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short.  While the Trump Administration favors revenue neutrality, its primary goal for reform is tax cuts.  President Trump is meeting with Congressional GOP leaders today to discuss his tax reform agenda. White House wants healthcare vote this summer, tax reform in fall
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White House Version of the Tax Bill Reportedly to Be Ready by Labor Day

Faced with growing Republican discontent over the Trump Administration’s lack of definitive tax legislation, White House economic advisor Gary Cohn projects that Congress will receive President Trump’s detailed tax proposal by the time Lawmakers return from the August recess. If delivered, the proposal would have to share attention with Congressional efforts to raise the debt limit and avoid a government shutdown. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady is also reportedly in the process of drafting an alternative tax plan for Congressional and White House consideration....
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DeSantis Joins Growing Ranks of Republicans Opposed to Border Adjustment Tax

Ron DeSantis (Fla.), is the latest member of the House Republicans to come out against the border adjustment tax.  DeSantis argues that it is a major impediment to tax reform, speculating that its inclusion in reform legislation would not garner the necessary support from Congress or the White House.  DeSantis promotes pairing tax cuts and spending cuts to fund tax reform and argues revenue neutrality is not necessary. GOP rep: Border-adjustment tax could ‘sink’ tax reform
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Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Says Pass-through Rate Cut Not for the Wealthy

On May 18, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin attempted to assuage fears that the Trump tax plan will favor the wealthy. Trump’s tax reform outline proposes a 15% tax rate on business income, including income of individuals derived from pass-through entities, which is currently subject to a top marginal rate of 39.6%. While the outline includes few details, some commentators have expressed concern that the change will provide outsized benefits to the top 1% of households and the largest, most profitable pass-throughs. Responding to a question by Senator Elizabeth Warren regarding the pass-through...
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States Dubious of 2017 Tax Reform

State officials’ concerns over holding special sessions and preparing for federal tax reform in 2017 are waning. Some believe that federal tax reform is unlikely to occur at all, pointing to the controversies enveloping the Trump administration, a partisan Congress, and prioritization of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. Karl Frieden, vice president and general counsel of the Council On State Taxation (COST), while commenting that the true deadline for tax reform is likely the 2018 elections, posits that the implementation period following enactment of a federal tax law, even...
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