BUSINESS/GOP/TAXES: “Senate Republicans, in their push to pass a sweeping tax bill, undermined a research-and-development tax credit many companies use to encourage innovation, and business interests are in revolt.
Late Friday [12-1-17], just hours before the Senate voted for the bill, Republicans decided to preserve the corporate alternative minimum tax instead of repealing it as planned. The change gave them money for lawmakers’ other priorities, but it could force many companies to lose tax breaks the bill’s authors intended to protect.
Addressing this problem is one of many challenges congressional Republicans face as they shepherd a final tax bill with implications for middle-class households, American businesses and the health-care system. The House and Senate passed competing bills that will now be merged into one…
All this will happen under presidential pressure to conclude by Christmas. The tax plans aren’t retroactive, but they are largely scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The House is expected to vote Monday to start a conference committee and name its negotiators. The Senate’s timing is less certain.”
-Richard Rubin, “Passage of Senate Tax Bill Puts R&D Tax Credit in Doubt,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 4, 2017 12:01am