By National Law Review.

Pressing Forward with Tax Reform

Prior to last week’s Memorial Day recess, both the House Ways & Means and Senate Finance Committees held hearings, which focused on the state of tax reform. First, in their hearings reviewing the President’s FY 2018 Budget Proposal, tax-writers focused on various issues, including: (1) the timing and approach to tax reform; (2) revenue neutrality; (3) the border adjustment tax (BAT); (4) full and immediate expensing; (5) interest deductibility; (6) tax credits and deductions; (7) pass-throughs; and (8) simplicity. Generally, the hearings reinforced the notion that the Trump Administration is still in the early stages of the tax reform process; though Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared before both tax-writing committees on consecutive days to discuss the budget and the Administration’s approach to tax reform, he did not provide many new details on key tax policy proposals. Republican lawmakers commended the Secretary on his active involvement in tax reform discussions, while Democrats criticized the slow pace thus far and lack of details from the White House.