Eversheds Sutherland Tax Reform Law Blog
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Administration Official States that Repatriation Tax Will Be in the 10% Range

National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn stated on Sunday that the Trump administration has proposed taxing profits accumulated offshore in the “10 percent range.” The tax reform framework released on September 27 stated that there would be two rates for the repatriation tax, with cash taxed at a higher rate than illiquid assets, but did not specify an amount. Cohn did not indicate...

Congressional Republicans Frustrated by Lack of Tax Reform Detail

With the vote for tax reform legislation looming, Congressional members of the GOP, including Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, have expressed concern over the lack of clarity as to what the tax reform proposal is.  Speaking anonymously, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee suggested that the lack of detail was either to prevent media leaks or because there is simply not...

Tax Reform Plan Not to Be Released Until After Senate Hearings

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a member of the “Big Six” group of tax reform policymakers, stated that the Trump tax reform plan will not be released until after the Senate holds tax reform hearings, one of which is slated for this Thursday, September 14.  As a result, the unveiling of the tax reform blueprint will likely not occur until the end of September, at the...

The ‘Big 6’ Are Making Progress on Tax Reform Framework

The White House and Congressional Republicans have reached broad agreement on several potential offsets to fund tax cuts, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.  Present options include capping the mortgage interest deduction, eliminating the state and local tax deduction, and eliminating the interest deduction for businesses.  Additionally, there is consensus among the...

September to be a Crucial Month for the Trump Administration

In September, the White House and Congress will have to address the debt ceiling, the federal budget, tax reform, and possibly another effort to repeal Obamacare.  White House aides have been negotiating these issues in New York while formulating plans to curb the President’s lofty expectations over the complicated, and likely bitterly contested, matters.  Tax reform is a primary...

White House Amenable to Bipartisan Tax Reform

White House officials, unwilling to repeat the Obamacare repeal failure and keenly aware of intraparty dissidence, have been discussing tax reform with House Democrats.  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and chief economic advisor Gary Cohn have been meeting with members of the House’s Blue Dog Coalition and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus to drum up support for reform.  While...

Cohn Calls for Sub-23% Corporate Tax Rate

White House economic advisor Gary Cohn stated that the US must reduce the tax rate for corporations and pass-through entities below 23%.  He indicated such a rate is necessary to encourage domestic corporations to keep their profits in the US by competing with corporate tax rates offered by most member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). ...

Joint Statement on Tax Reform Issued; BAT Abandoned

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,...

GOP to Release Tax Reform Framework

The top Republican tax negotiators are expected to unveil a broad set of agreed tax reform principles prior to the Congressional recess.  The anticipated framework is the result of ongoing deliberations between the “big six”:  Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, House Ways and Means Committee chairman Kevin Brady, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Finance Committee chairman...

White House Reconsidering Corporate Tax Rate Goal

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...

Cohn Optimistic for Tax Reform Regardless of Health Bill Progress

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...

A Step toward Bipartisan Tax Reform

Blue Dog Democrats, political centrist members of the House of Representatives, recently met with members of the White House economic team, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, economic advisor Gary Cohn, and Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short.  The Blue Dogs agree with certain tax reform goals of  President Trump, namely that legislation must (i) spur economic growth;...

White House, Congress Agree on Timeline; Ryan Calls for Permanent Reform

Speaking at the National Association of Manufacturers summit, House Speaker Paul Ryan confirmed that the White House and House Republicans concentrating on crafting tax reform have agreed to a timeline for a bill to be submitted. White House Chief Economic Advisor, Gary Cohn, has stated that they aim to introduce a bill to Congress in September. The Speaker reiterated his belief in a...

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...

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...