Busy Time for Tax Reform Writers

Posted on September 25, 2017

Lawmakers are focusing their attention on tax reform this month. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing this week to collect testimony about business tax reform proposals. That follows a similar session last week to discuss individual reform.

For his part, House Speaker Paul Ryan promises to release details of a tax reform plan by September 25. “The outline will represent a consensus between the two tax-writing committees in Congress, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, and the Trump administration,” Bloomberg reported.

President Donald Trump says the final tax measure should draw bipartisan support, and he’s met with leading Democrats including Sen. Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to discuss taxes and other issues. “More and more, we’re trying to work things out together,” Trump said during a meeting with moderates from both parties.

Even as he’s meeting with Democrats, Trump is pressing Republicans to “hurry” on tax reform. “Don’t wait until the end of September,” he tweeted.

One risk is that some tax reform ideas could cause unintended negative consequences to the CRE industry. Among these are eliminating the deductibility of interest payments on business loans, taxing carried interests at higher ordinary income rates, and eliminating Section 1031 like kind exchanges.

As legislative tax reform efforts advance, NAIOP staff is meeting with lawmakers to ensure that spending and tax reform bills protect the interests of the CRE industry.

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