On The Hill

Senate Committee on Finance Releases Reports on Temporary Tax Policy

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) released reports summarizing the work of three of the six bipartisan taskforces that examined tax provisions that have expired, or are set to expire, between Dec 31, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2019. The taskforces were instructed to determine possible solutions that would provide long-term certainty in the following issue areas: workforce and community development, energy, business cost recovery, health tax policies, and individual and excise policies. Referencing the work of the taskforces, Grassley said that, “the next step will be to put together a legislative package based on the proposals that the taskforces received, the areas of consensus among the taskforce members and continued bipartisan discussions. Taxpayers deserve predictability and clarity, and they haven’t received either for far too long on temporary tax policy. As we work toward that goal, we also shouldn’t lose sight of the provisions that expired more than a year and a half ago. That must be a top priority for Congress upon its return in September.” Wyden echoed Grassley’s call for predictability in tax policy, saying “Tax policy should not be set a year or two at a time. We need to find permanent solutions that provide certainty to families and businesses. I appreciate the work of my colleagues and their staff to meet with a wide-range of stakeholders over the past several months and explore options for addressing these policy issues.”^[1] 

The Taskforce Summary Reports can be found below:

• Energy – click here
• Cost Recovery – click here
• Individual, Excise & Other Expiring Policies – click here

References

^[1] “Grassley, Wyden Release Committee Summary Reports on Long-Term Solutions to Temporary Tax Policy” US Senate Committee on Finance. 13 Aug 2019 https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/grassley-wyden-release-committee-summary-reports-on-long-term-solutions-to-temporary-tax-policy