Ag Policy Blog

Tax Committees Signal Agreement on Some Tax Extenders

Chris Clayton
By  Chris Clayton , DTN Ag Policy Editor
Connect with Chris:

From today's Washington Insider column:

GOP Panel Leaders Signal Agreement on Some Permanent Tax Extenders

Permanent tax extender possibilities remain a priority for top congressional Republicans, including new House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

Meanwhile, talks on how to best handle the over 50 expired tax breaks and benefits are underway. “I think we can get it done,” Hatch said when asked about the likelihood of extending some extenders permanently. Brady told his Ways and Means Republicans that he, too, would push permanency for some extenders after his selection as the committee’s new chairman was formally ratified by the House Republican Conference early Nov. 5.

The House has already passed four bills with permanent extender provisions, including two sponsored by Brady. One would make permanent the tax credit for businesses’ research and development activities (HR 880), and the other would permanently extend the state and local sales tax deduction for individual income taxpayers (HR 622). Besides the permanent research and development tax credit and the sales tax deduction bills, the House has passed permanent expensing under tax code Section 179, permanent provisions tied to charitable donations and permanency for the five-year recognition period for built-in gains of S corporations.

Ways and Means has reported five other tax extender bills that have yet to advance to the House floor, including a measure to permanently extend accelerated expensing through bonus depreciation (HR 2510). That legislation is sponsored by Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, who challenged Brady for the chairmanship.

Hatch’s panel has advanced a two-year extenders renewal covering this year and next year. That package has not yet made it to the Senate floor, and reports have surfaced that extenders could move with highway legislation (HR 22) that the House and Senate will soon conference, or as part of a spending bill for Fiscal Year 2016 that is expected to come together in December. Hatch previously said several options remain on the table, including one- or two-year renewals. Some chatter has noted a possible three-year extension, which would shift the debate on extenders into the first year of the next president’s term.

Follow me on Twitter @ChrisClaytonDTN

P[L1] D[0x0] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
P[] D[728x170] M[320x75] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
P[L2] D[728x90] M[320x50] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]

Comments

To comment, please Log In or Join our Community .

Bonnie Dukowitz
11/11/2015 | 5:52 PM CST
If only the government would live with in its means!