A couple of quick updates on the Ways & Means “Tax Team” front. First, the Main Street Employers Coalition today submitted comments making the case for a permanent Section 199A pass-through deduction.

The letter is addressed to the Main Street Tax Team, one of ten teams organized by Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith to identify solutions to the 2025 fiscal cliff, and it covers the various key aspects of the 199A debate – why the provision is important, how Congress should define parity, why can’t family businesses just convert, etc.  As the letter notes:

The Main Street Employers Coalition (MSEC) is comprised of dozens of trade associations representing businesses operating in virtually every industry and community across the country. The vast majority of these businesses are structured as pass-throughs – S corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships – and they rely on the Section 199A pass-through deduction to help them grow, create jobs, and remain competitive.

You can read the entire letter here.

Second, just yesterday S-Corp champion Michelle Gallagher, whose Michigan-based accounting firm was one of our best allies in the battle to defeat the horrible Section 2704 rules, briefed the Rural America and Main Street Tax Teams on the estate tax, valuation issues, and Section 199A. It was a perfect opportunity for lawmakers to hear firsthand what farms and businesses are going through and how the 2025 fiscal cliff threatens their survival.

So things are moving on the fiscal cliff front.  The Tax Teams are up and running and the Main Street community is engaging with lawmakers on how to best address this looming threat. The coalition is grateful for the opportunity to share these perspectives and, alongside our allies and Representative Smucker, look forward to seeing his Main Street Tax Certainty Act enacted into law next year.

More to come…