With a Consensus Tax Bill, Christmas May Come Early for Republicans
An agreement between Senate and House Republicans on a tax bill was finalized Wednesday morning. According to lawmakers and reports from aides, Senate and House Republicans have agreed to provisions including the following: • Corporate tax rate will drop from 35% to 21%, to go in effect in 2018. • Individuals will be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 in state and local taxes, split...All in a Late Night’s Work: Senate Passes Tax Bill
Posted on Dec 4, 2017 in News, Uncategorized
At approximately 2:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, the Senate passed its tax reform bill with a vote of 51-49. Changes to the bill, including some handwritten into the document, were made leading up to the final vote. The only Republican to vote against the bill was Senator Bob Corker who has continued concerns regarding the estimated $1+ trillion deficit over the next 10 years. Corker...
White House Officials State Willingness to Sacrifice Health Care Provision for the Tax Reform Greater Good
Posted on Nov 20, 2017 in Insurance Tax, News
The White House Budget Director, Mick Mulvaney, indicated that the Trump Administration is willing to strike the health care provision in the Senate’s proposed tax legislation repealing the requirement that everyone in the U.S. have health insurance or pay a fine. Striking this provision would leave the Senate $338 billion short of their revenue goal and would require Republican...
Senate Finance Committee Approves Republican Tax Reform Proposal
Posted on Nov 17, 2017 in News
On November 16, 2017, by a partisan 14-12 vote, the Senate Finance Committee approved the Senate GOP’s version of the tax reform plan, which differs from the proposed House bill, after adoption of Chairman Orrin Hatch’s manager’s amendment. Legislative language will now be drafted and taken up for vote by the full Senate following Thanksgiving. Senate Finance Committee Approves GOP...
Senate Tax Plan Will Include Repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s Individual Mandate
Posted on Nov 15, 2017 in News, Uncategorized
Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch recently revised the Senate tax proposal to include a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. Recent revisions also made many of the tax cuts for individuals temporary. Corporate tax cuts remain permanent. These changes were made so that the tax proposal would comply with the Senate’s Bryd Rule, which prevents legislation that...
Orrin Hatch to introduce Senate tax reform bill amendments changing 401(k), IRA classifications
Posted on Nov 13, 2017 in International Tax, News
The Senate Finance Committee has released a full list of the proposed amendments to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act currently under consideration. Chairman Senator Orrin Hatch will present several amendments to the Senate’s tax reform bill during the mark up. His proposal includes a provision allowing publicly traded companies to deduct up to 12.5% of dividends paid to shareholders from...
Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on International Tax Reform
Posted on Oct 4, 2017 in International Tax, News
Led by Chairman Hatch, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on international tax reform, following the release of the Republican tax reform framework. The hearing and witnesses focused on the competitive disparity between foreign multinationals and domestic multinationals. The witnesses differed on whether a switch to a territorial system or stronger earning stripping provisions...
Hatch Touts Corporate Integration at Tax Reform Hearing
Posted on Sep 20, 2017 in News
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, during his opening statement at the committee’s Hearing on Business Tax Reform on September 19, stated that he continues to support his corporate integration proposal, which would allow U.S. businesses to deduct shareholder dividend payments from their taxable income in order to resolve the perceived double taxation, at the corporate and...
Tax Reform Plan Not to Be Released Until After Senate Hearings
Posted on Sep 12, 2017 in News
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...
Business Tax Reform Hearing Announced by Senate Finance Committee
Posted on Sep 12, 2017 in News
Senator Hatch, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, announced a hearing on business tax reform to take place on Tuesday, September 19, 2017. Four executives from industry groups and think tanks will testify on policy options for reforming the taxation of U.S. businesses. The witnesses include: Scott A. Hodge, President, Tax Foundation; Donald B. Marron, Institute Fellow, Urban...
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...
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...
Senator Hatch Not Optimistic About a Significant Reduction in the Corporate Tax Rate
Posted on Aug 2, 2017 in News
Senator Hatch, Senate Finance Committee chairman, said in an interview that it would be “kind of miraculous” to reduce the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, much less President Trump’s goal of 15 percent, and that Republicans will be lucky to get the rate down at all. He also stated that tax reform success may require gaining Democratic support. Read more: U.S. Senator Hatch says 25...
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...
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,...