Set Phasers to Stun: Corporate Tax Cuts May Be Delayed Under Phase-in Plan
Posted on Oct 31, 2017 in News
An unnamed member of the House Ways and Means Committee stated Monday that the Committee is discussing a phase-in plan for the corporate tax-rate cut. In response, Kevin Brady, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said only that the Committee preferred an option with no phase-in. Both President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also expressed their preference for an...
Mnuchin Discusses Tax Reform
Posted on Sep 15, 2017 in News
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, during an interview on the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” indicated that tax reform would be revenue neutral under the Administration’s growth assumptions. In discussing specifics of the yet-to-be released tax reform plan, he stated that the estate tax would be eliminated, that there would be a one-time deemed...
Congressional Republicans Frustrated by Lack of Tax Reform Detail
Posted on Sep 14, 2017 in News
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
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...
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...
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...
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,...
GOP to Release Tax Reform Framework
Posted on Jul 27, 2017 in News
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
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...
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...
A Step toward Bipartisan Tax Reform
Posted on Jun 23, 2017 in News
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;...
Tax Reform is Mnuchin’s ‘No. 1 Focus’
Posted on Jun 22, 2017 in News
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated that the Trump Administration and Congress are wholly dedicated to passing tax reform this year. He foresees tax reform encompassing lower tax rates accompanied by cuts to special interest preferences and the implementation of a territorial tax system. Secretary Mnuchin observed that slow corporate tax receipts are a byproduct of the tax...
Support Grows for Extending the Ten Year Tax Cut Budget Period
Posted on Jun 16, 2017 in News
With tax reform progress floundering amid GOP rifts and political partisanship, Republican leaders are considering changing Senate budget rules to increase the period before required sunset for tax cuts that add to the federal deficit. Current rules limit the duration of tax cuts that add to the federal deficit to ten years if they are passed under the budget reconciliation process,...
Freedom Caucus Chairman Opposes Border Adjustment Tax, Says Tax Reform must Occur by September
Posted on Jun 15, 2017 in News
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....
Automotive Industry Leaders Opposed to Border Adjustment Tax
Posted on Jun 15, 2017 in International Tax, News
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...