Washington Wire
Rate Hikes Still in Play
The White House as recently as yesterday was actively pushing lawmakers to include a rate hike in Tuesday’s Ways & Means markup, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick telling reporters the rate hike was a “smart” move. Then this morning President Trump appeared to back off the effort, posting the following:
An hour later NEC Director Kevin Hassett appeared on CNBC and when asked about …
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Main Street (Still) Opposes Rate Hikes
The buzz on K Street is that the White House has resumed its push for Congress to raise the top tax rate as part of the upcoming tax package. If you’re confused by this (possible) development, so are we. Just a couple of weeks ago, the President signaled his opposition to rate hikes. Now they might be back on the table.
While that may be the case, it’s hard to envision a world in which …
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Talking Taxes in a Truck Episode 42: Joe Lieber – Bullish on A Tax Deal
Joe Lieber is a founder and co-managing partner of Capitol Policy Partners, a veteran DC insider and a three-time TTT podcast guest! Joe kicks things off with an overview of the tariff debate and where he thinks things are headed, how the bond markets will react, and whether the levies can be rolled into the budget reconciliation package. We then turn to tax policy, where Joe gives his bull case for the massive tax …
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Business Community Rallies Against B-SALT Proposals
The closer we get to a real tax bill, the louder the opposition to a possible B-SALT cap becomes. That’s a good thing, because the threat is real.
First, an explainer – lots of folks are talking about C-SALT (state and local taxes paid by corporations) deductions these days, but that’s a misnomer. There is no separate corporate policy regarding SALT deductions. If Congress caps C-SALT, it caps deductions for S corporations and other pass-throughs too. …
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Chairman Smith Quashes Tax Hike Rumors
Missouri Congressman Jason Smith, who heads up the tax-writing Ways & Means Committee, was on Mornings with Maria yesterday to talk all things tax policy. The Chairman was asked about a so-called “millionaire tax,” and his response should give comfort to millions of Main Street businesses that would see their taxes increased under the ill-conceived proposal.
Here’s the key excerpt:
What has been discussed by news media …
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More Pushback on Rate Hikes
The Main Street Employers coalition organized a letter calling on tax-writers to reject rate hikes last week. More than 90 trades, including all our Main Street friends, signed on.
That effort caught the attention of Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist, who flagged it in a recent media appearance.
President Trump is not going to allow the top rate for income taxes to be increased. That …
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199A Deficit Account Relief
The House last week signed off on a Senate-approved budget resolution that uses a “current policy baseline” method of tallying up the bill’s deficit impact. One quirk of this approach is any existing policies must not be simply renewed but would need to include a substantive change from current law. That means lawmakers using a current policy baseline will need to make tweaks to the Section 199A deduction to stay compliant.
Putting the Tax Hike Debate to Rest
The House yesterday cleared a major hurdle in the effort to move a broad tax package when lawmakers signed off on a Senate-passed budget resolution. With the broad parameters of that legislation in place, Main Street is speaking out against an ill-conceived tax hike proposal. A letter signed by more than 90 trade associations reads:
The so-called “millionaire tax” in question – which actually kicks in at income around $620,000 – would saddle them with …
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