Trump Administration Steps Up to the Plate with Tax Reform Plan

The big news on taxes this week was the Trump administration releasing its tax reform proposal.

The U.S. Chamber’s tax expert welcomed it, calling it, “the start of the conversation.”

Releasing the plan shows the administration is “stepping up to the plate and engaging and working towards pro-growth tax reform,” Caroline Harris, chief tax council and vice president for tax policy, told Bloomberg.

Harris brought up three principles of tax reform: Permanence; moving to a territorial system; and appropriate transition rules.

1. “Businesses want certainty; they want permanence,” Harris said. Knowing what to expect will help companies determine how to best deploy investments and hire workers.
2. “We need to shift to a territorial system, which is something we heard from the Trump White House talk about,” Harris explained. “If you have a territorial system you’re not subjecting cash to that extra layer of tax when you bring it back to the United States, and it frees that capital up going forward.”
3. “Businesses also need time to change how they operate to respond to changes in the tax code,” said Harris. Reform should avoid causing unnecessary business disruptions.

[Here is the U.S. Chamber’s list of principles for pro-growth tax reform.]

To keep the momentum going, Harris said President Trump is “going to have to start having conversations with Chairman Brady in the House, Hatch in the Senate, with leadership—with Speaker Ryan—with Leader McConnell and parse out what they want to do and how we can have the most pro-growth tax code.”

Also, all sides need to be involved in the conversation. Republicans, Democrats, the White House, Congress, and the business community have to work together. “Everyone has to come to the table. This has to be a group effort,” she emphasized.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is of Steven Mnuchin, Treasury secretary (right), and Gary Cohn, director of the U.S. National Economic Council. Photo credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg.

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