More than 230 trade associations came out in support today of legislation to make permanent the Section 199A deduction. Appropriately named the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, the bill is set to be reintroduced tomorrow by Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and Representative Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), two of the Main Street business community’s staunchest allies.

The deduction was enacted in 2017 to encourage job creation and new investment by private businesses.  It also helps private companies compete with public corporations. Without the deduction, pass-throughs would face rates up to 16 percentage points higher than their publicly-traded competitors. The challenge is …

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The House Ways & Means Committee today kicked off the new Congress with a hearing focused on the family and business provisions included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. But the topic that took center stage is one that’s near and dear to the hearts of millions of Main Street businesses nationwide – addressing the looming expiration of the Section 199A deduction.

The panel first heard testimony from Michelle Gallagher, an S-Corp Advisor and accountant with decades of experience serving individual and family-owned businesses (and who can be seen sporting our “I Love 199A pin!”).

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Only a couple of days into the new Congress and they’re ready to throw hands!

The Chairman’s frustration is justified. The obsession with process over policy is getting old. As Senator Bob Dole used to say, you should talk about your accomplishments, policies, and facts first.  If you don’t have any of those, then fall back on process. “You can always talk about process.” Focusing on process exclusively shifts attention away from the underlying policies and their real-world consequences for Main Street and elsewhere.

It’s also a waste of time.  At the …

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Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith recently told reporters that Section 199A permanence is at the top of his priority list. Yet some in the DC Tax Community continue to crusade against this provision that directly benefits the vast majority of businesses in this country.

A good example is a recent Tax Notes panel on the 2025 tax outlook.  During a discussion on Section 199A, Bill Gale of the Brookings Institute commented:

I mean, it’s well known to be expensive, to be extremely regressive, and not to have had anywhere near the desired impact on either investment or hiring etc. …

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