16 November 2025 This Week in Tax Policy for November 17 During last Monday's (November 10) session prior to adjourning for the week, Leader Thune took a procedural step to set up a future vote in the full Senate on the nomination of Donald Korb to be chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service and an assistant general counsel in the Treasury Department. However, President Trump announced on social media November 14 that he was withdrawing the nomination. The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a hearing, "The Rising Cost of Health Care: Considering Meaningful Solutions for all Americans," for Wednesday, November 19 at 10 a.m. The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing, "Modernizing Care Coordination to Prevent and Treat Chronic Disease," for Wednesday, November 19 at 2 p.m. Government shutdown: The record-breaking 43-day government shutdown is over after the House November 12 approved, and the President signed, a package encompassing a continuing resolution (CR) until January 30, 2026, and a minibus appropriations package comprising the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Agriculture (including the Food and Drug Administration), and Legislative Branch FY2026 spending bills. The House vote was 222-209. The Senate approved the CR on Monday November 10 following a Sunday night deal to provide the required Democratic votes to reach the chamber's 60-vote threshold. The main impetus for Democrats withholding votes for the CR was their insistence that an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits be included. Republican leaders refused to tie the issues together, and a group of senators opted to ultimately provide the Democratic votes for the CR in exchange for provisions to reinstate federal workers who lost their jobs due to reductions in force (RIFs) and Majority Leader John Thune's (R-SD) commitment to holding a vote on extension of the ACA credits in December. Leader Thune said he is "committed to having that vote no later than the second week in December." There is already a focus on that upcoming vote, although the details of what will be considered by the Senate are still developing. There could be competing Democratic and Republican proposals, both parties could consider some "guardrails" relative to the current credits like an income cap, and some Republicans led by Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) want a different approach to the credits altogether using a pre-funded Federal Flexible Spending Account. Retirements: House Budget Committee Chairman and Ways and Means Committee member Jodey Arrington (R-TX) announced November 11 that he will not run for re-election in 2026. He cited the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) as a high note to go out on. "It was a very unique, generational impact opportunity, to be almost 10 years into this and to have the budget chairmanship, and to lead the charge to successfully pass that and to help this president fulfill his mandate from the people," Arrington said in a Fox News report. "It just seems like a good and right place to leave it." In July, Chairman Arrington said Republicans plan to consider another reconciliation bill in the fall and maybe another next year. Plans for additional reconciliation activity, however, seem up in the air, along with the rest of the agenda, as Congress comes out of the shutdown and into a yearend legislative stretch. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is advocating for a second reconciliation bill to focus on health care issues, while Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) is holding out for a bipartisan health care plan. Looking ahead: Whether a bipartisan compromise can be reached on ACA credits could determine if a potential bill could be paired with other bipartisan issues. It is possible the two sides could come together to extend the enhanced credits before they expire at the end of 2025, and there are other expiring provisions that could perhaps be under consideration. The deal to end the government shutdown also creates another deadline and legislative opportunity. Congress now faces a January 30 deadline to pass the remaining nine annual appropriations bills for FY 2026 (or another CR/minibus), but members remain divided over topline spending numbers and potential add-ons. It is unclear what tax items could be pursued, but a sampling of proposals on the tax side that could be addressed in future legislation may include:
IRS: Revenue Procedure 2025-31 released on Monday, November 10, describes a safe harbor for trusts that otherwise qualify as investment trusts and grantor trusts to stake their digital assets without jeopardizing their tax status as investment trusts and grantor trusts for Federal income tax purposes. The revenue procedure also provides a limited time period for an existing trust to amend its governing instrument to adopt the requirements of the safe harbor. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on social media: "Today @USTreasury and the @IRSnews issued new guidance giving crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) a clear path to stake digital assets and share staking rewards with their retail investors. This move increases investor benefits, boosts innovation, and keeps America the global leader in digital asset and blockchain technology." The Bloomberg Daily Tax Report said the guidance "comes after the Treasury Department and IRS have received requests for guidance on staking, which is the process by which cryptocurrency holders lock up their tokens to validate transactions on the blockchain."
Document ID: 2025-2300 | |||
