Tax

The Senate Finance Committee yesterday released draft text of the tax sections of the reconciliation bill, preserving most of the pro-growth tax provisions that manufacturers—and the NAM—have long advocated.

What’s in it: The bill reflects the NAM’s key tax priorities, including:

• A permanent pass-through deduction and retention of pro-growth individual and corporate tax rates;
• Permanence for pro-growth tax policies like immediate R&D expensing, full expensing for capital equipment purchases and a pro-growth interest deductibility standard;
• An expanded and permanent estate tax exemption;
• Pro-manufacturing reforms to the international tax system that protect America’s competitiveness on the world stage; and
• A first-of-its-kind incentive allowing immediate expensing of the cost of new factories and modernizations.

What’s not in it: Critical energy and manufacturing incentives are still on the line. The Senate bill makes changes to these provisions from the House bill—and the NAM is already working to ensure policymakers understand the implications these changes could have for manufacturers in America and American energy dominance.

The NAM’s advocacy: The NAM has long urged Congress to make permanent the pro-growth policies of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Its multiyear campaign has put manufacturers front and center to show why preserving tax reform is essential for driving investment and creating jobs.

• Most recently, the NAM released a report, “Keeping Our Promises: Manufacturers on Eight Years of Tax Reform,” featuring manufacturers’ own accounts of how the TCJA helped them invest in their facilities, their workers and their communities.
• The NAM has stayed in constant contact with lawmakers, urging Senate leaders to preserve the crucial manufacturing priorities from the House bill while also adopting targeted improvements to ensure the final package is maximally beneficial for manufacturers’ investment and job creation.

The NAM says: “Chairman Crapo and the Senate Finance Committee are delivering the kind of tax policy manufacturers have been calling for—policy that drives growth, unlocks investment and grows jobs,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “… By preserving the full suite of pro-growth policies from the TCJA, this bill marks a major step forward for manufacturing in America.”

• “Manufacturers also want to ensure that the tax code continues to support inbound investment into the United States as well as preserve incentives that drive investments in the manufacturing and energy production needed to power America’s economic growth. If the Senate acts now, manufacturers can continue to grow—buying equipment, hiring workers, increasing pay and expanding operations with greater certainty and confidence.”
• “The Finance Committee recognizes what’s at stake: nearly 6 million jobs and more than a trillion dollars in economic output depend on getting this right.”