Heller Foresees Tax Reform Passage in December
Posted on Aug 25, 2017 in News
Senator Dean Heller, a Republican member of the Senate Finance Committee, stated that the best case scenario for tax reform is legislation passing in late December of this year. He predicted that the tax reform bill will lower rates, apply retroactively, and will attempt to decrease some regulations. Senator Heller anticipates a half dozen tax reform hearings from his committee prior...
The ‘Big 6’ Are Making Progress on Tax Reform Framework
Posted on Aug 22, 2017 in News, State and Local Tax
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...
Ryan to Promote Tax Reform in the Pacific Northwest
Posted on Aug 21, 2017 in News
After events in Ohio, Washington, DC and Massachusetts, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will promote tax reform in the Pacific Northwest this week. He will address the benefits of reform, including lower taxes, less hassle, and a level playing field for all taxpayers, according to a spokesman for the Speaker, with the goal of getting Republicans back on track after President Trump’s...
President Needs to Focus on Tax Reform after Bannon Departure
Posted on Aug 21, 2017 in News
Sara Fagen, the White House political director under George W. Bush, stated that President Trump needs to focus his administration on producing a tax reform package in the wake of Steve Bannon’s departure. According to Fagen, who sees the Bannon exit as a positive, the President needs an accomplishment on his record, particularly in light of his response to the racially charged events...
GOP Fears President’s Volatile Relationships Could Jeopardize Tax Reform
Posted on Aug 18, 2017 in News
President Trump’s declining relationship with his party and the business community could endanger passage of a tax reform bill. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady stated that tax reform, which he described as the “signature issue of this presidency,” can only succeed if the President “gets on board and stays on board.” In the wake of distracting events and the...
Brady Expects Economic Growth to Offset Initial Deficit Increase
Posted on Aug 17, 2017 in News
Speaking at the Reagan Ranch on Wednesday, August 16, 2017, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Kevin Brady announced that the GOP tax reform plan could significantly add to the deficit during the first few years of implementation, but that resultant economic growth would eventually offset any adverse effects. While light on specific details, Chairman Brady mentioned that House...
Republicans Confident on Selling Tax Reform
Posted on Aug 16, 2017 in News
The GOP believes it will have an easier time selling the American populace on tax reform than it did on Healthcare reform. In order to elicit support, Republican lawmakers intend to emphasize the effects of tax reform policies on their constituents, including tax cuts, more jobs, more take-home pay, and a simpler tax code. According to political strategists, stripping tax preferences...
September to be a Crucial Month for the Trump Administration
Posted on Aug 14, 2017 in News
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...
GOP Considers Hybrid Approach to Tax Reform
Posted on Aug 14, 2017 in News
Congressional tax committee members and the White House are discussing tax reform that combines permanent revisions to the tax code with temporary rate cuts for individuals and businesses. The proposal is a potential solution for Republicans if the party opts to utilize the reconciliation process, which limits the life of tax cuts adding 10 years to the federal deficit. (The effect of...
Republican Tax Reform Framework, but No Legislation, Reportedly Coming in September
Posted on Aug 14, 2017 in News
Sources indicate that the Trump administration expects the “Big Six” will release a short three- to five-page document in September outlining a plan for reforming the US tax code. The document will likely not be accompanied by legislation, previously targeted for September, but instead could serve to outline areas of agreement between the White House, Senate, and Congress. Neither the...
Republicans Divided Between Tax Reform and Tax Cuts
Posted on Aug 11, 2017 in News
Facing a low presidential approval rating, failed health care reform, and impending midterm elections, the GOP wants to move quickly on tax legislation but is undecided on the actual package to present. Some Republicans support scaling back reform to focus on tax cuts, in the hope of avoiding drawn out negotiations over eliminating tax expenditures and closing loopholes. Other party...
White House Amenable to Bipartisan Tax Reform
Posted on Aug 11, 2017 in News
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...
Senate Budget Committee Considers Appropriate Baseline Measure
Posted on Aug 8, 2017 in News
Senate Budget Chairman Michael Enzi confirmed that he intends to mark up a fiscal 2018 budget resolution in September. First, however, the Budget Committee will need to agree on how to measure the resolution, using either the current policy baseline or current law baseline. The former method, which reduces projected federal revenue by approximately $460 billion over 10 years, assumes...
Cohn Calls for Sub-23% Corporate Tax Rate
Posted on Aug 7, 2017 in News, Pass-through Taxation
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). ...
Meadows Cites Thanksgiving Deadline for Tax Reform
Posted on Aug 4, 2017 in News
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, speaking at an Americans for Prosperity event, stated that “if [the tax reform bill] doesn’t get to the president’s desk by Thanksgiving… it isn’t going to happen.” He explained that the timing is imperative in order to retroactively apply tax reform benefits to 2017 and to avoid the legislative slowdown often associated with midterm...