POLITICS/TAXES: “The House and Senate versions of a plan to overhaul the nation’s tax code are likely to diverge on many issues, including the treatment of business interest expenses and their write-offs for investments.
The tax-writing committees in the House and the Senate are eager to make their own marks on the U.S. tax system, the chairmen of those panels said Thursday [9-14-17].
Their comments underscored a challenge Republicans face. Even though party leaders and White House officials have been negotiating behind the scenes for months and have set a deadline for the week of Sept. 25 to release a blueprint for their tax proposal, many differences need to be worked out before the bill can become law.
Lawmakers and the White House want the tax changes to happen this year, which is creating pressure on legislators this fall…
The timeline for committee votes hinges on the House and Senate adopting a budget that sets out the revenue target for a tax bill. But writing that budget requires some knowledge of what will be in the tax bill, and lawmakers haven’t sorted out either piece yet…
Major structural decisions—including revenue targets, international tax rules, exact tax rates and which tax breaks would be eliminated—haven’t been made yet, said a person familiar with the conversations.
The document will include a specific corporate tax rate and details on the deductibility of corporate interest, Mr. Mnuchin said at a separate appearance at the same event. He said news reports suggesting the six negotiators are far apart are untrue.”
-Richard Rubin, “House, Senate Tax Proposals Likely to Diverge,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 14, 2017 06:52pm