05 August 2016 EY Center for Tax Policy: This Week in Tax Reform for August 5 Trump speech: On Monday, August 8 (at 12:00 p.m.), Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will unveil his "policy agenda for revitalizing the American economy" at the Detroit Economic Club. "Mr. Trump's speech will focus on empowering Americans by freeing up the necessary tools for everyone to gain economically," his campaign said. CAP's Tanden says hard to argue for corporate rate cut: During the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Neera Tanden, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress and an adviser to Hillary Clinton, suggested it is difficult to argue that companies are struggling with the corporate rate at a time when profits are up. Asked July 27 whether Clinton would support a corporate rate cut in the context of an infrastructure spending deal, Tanden said "it's a little bit hard to argue that we're uncompetitive when profitability of firms has done pretty well over the last several years," Politico reported. She continued, "We should recognize that some of the anxieties people have in Washington are not the same anxieties people have" elsewhere. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has called for increasing infrastructure funding "by $275 billion over a five-year period, fully paying for these investments through business tax reform," but has not provided tax reform details. Democratic platform: Meanwhile, the Democratic platform released July 21 included a section on "Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes" that said in part, "We will end deferrals so that American corporations pay United States taxes immediately on foreign profits and can no longer escape paying their fair share of U.S. taxes by stashing profits abroad. We will then use the revenue raised from fixing the corporate tax code to reinvest in rebuilding America and ensuring economic growth that will lead to millions of good-paying jobs." The section also said Democrats will "claw back tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, eliminate tax breaks for big oil and gas companies, and crack down on inversions and other methods companies use to dodge their tax responsibilities." On the individual side, the platform promised a "multimillionaire surtax to ensure millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share" and to end certain benefits for hedge fund managers and estates. "We will offer tax relief to hard working, middle-class families for the cost squeeze they have faced for years from rising health care, childcare, education, and other expenses," the section concluded. "Donald Trump and the Republican Party would do the opposite and provide trillions in tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations at the expense of working families, seniors, and the health of our economy." JCT/CBO report on asset holdings and capital gains: On August 4, the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation released a joint report with the Congressional Budget Office, "The Distribution of Asset Holdings and Capital Gains," relating to the distribution of capital assets and the distribution of realized net capital gains and net capital losses. The analysis relates to 2010, the most recent year for which complete data is available. Ways and Means Republicans' post on tax plan: An August 2 blog post by House Ways and Means Committee Republicans described the tax reform Blueprint they released June 24 as incorporating a number of "historic firsts designed to unleash historic American growth," including: ending the tax penalty on US exports; reducing taxes on pass-through entities; and repealing the estate tax. "House Republicans recognize that our current tax code is broken beyond repair. To promote historic American growth, we cannot think small. We must move forward with bold, pro-growth ideas that will unleash our nation's economic potential," the post stated. "That's exactly the approach we are pursuing with our built-for-growth tax reform Blueprint." Ways and Means Republican tax staff is in the process of building out the tax reform Blueprint by drafting detailed statutory language. The publicly expressed goal is to have that effort completed by the end of 2016. "When 60% of Americans believe our economy is getting worse, House Republicans refuse to stand still. We're moving forward with a bold pro-growth agenda that will get our economy back to where it should be: in the lead. Our tax reform blueprint includes groundbreaking policies designed to unleash historic growth. By driving growth and investment, our plan will add millions of new jobs and significantly raise wages so workers, families, and job creators all can succeed and our economy can flourish." — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), August 5 statement in response to the Department of Labor's July jobs report
Document ID: 2016-1352 | |||||
