Pardon Our Dust
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In her Aug. 13 Law360 article, Lai King Lam, vice president in McGuireWoods Consulting’s federal public affairs practice, assessed the prospects of passage for Tax Reform 2.0, a follow-up to the GOP’s 2017 tax law.
On July 24, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) released a two-page framework for Tax Reform 2.0, which seeks to make permanent the individual tax provisions set to expire after 2025, promote savings and spur new business innovation.
In her article, Lam wrote that while the bill may pass the House, it faces an uphill climb in the Senate due to several political and procedural hurdles. That said, select provisions from Tax Reform 2.0 may be enacted this year through a stand-alone bill. In particular, she said, measures related to retirement savings stand the best chance of passage, given the level of bipartisan support.
Although the framework was not accompanied by legislative text, the Senate’s Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2018, which enjoys bipartisan support, reportedly will be included in Tax Reform 2.0, either in whole or in part.
“The potential incorporation of RESA into the forthcoming tax legislation, along with the bipartisan retirement bills introduced in July, is a sign that lawmakers are making a serious effort to get a retirement package done this year,” Lam said. “Thus, the retirement section may be the only thing that survives the ill-fated Tax Reform 2.0.”