Legislative Activity

Tax Writing Committee Meetings Continue

The Senate Finance Committee has continued their series of closed-door Committee meetings on tax reform, recently issuing their latest Option Paper last Thursday, June 6 – this one on Types of Income and Business Entities. The closed-door meetings have facilitated discussion among Senators in an attempt to find where agreement on policy exists. The sessions have included discussion on most major policy elements of tax reform.

In this latest paper, the Committee reviewed business income tax rules focusing on C corporations, passthroughs, and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

The Types of Income and Business Entities paper was the eighth topic covered by the Committee. Only two more topics are expected to be covered, one of which will focus on tax exempt and charitable organizations. A list of all the Option Papers currently published is available here.

Ways and Means to Hold Hearing on Tax Havens, Base Erosion, and Profit Sharing

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, June 13 to examine different tax planning strategies used by multinational corporations to shift income out of the United States and into low-tax jurisdictions (see This Week’s Hearings below).  The hearing will consider when profit shifting truly is eroding the U.S. tax base and when companies are shifting profits amongst different foreign jurisdictions without affecting U.S. tax collections.

Congress’ Continued Review of IRS Developments

Last week, the IRS continued to face criticism regarding its recent actions, facing tough questioning at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing.  The IRS has come under scrutiny for using taxpayer dollars for expensive employee conferences and the targeting of conservative political groups that applied for tax-exempt status. At the hearing, Republicans expressed concern that the IRS will be implementing President Obama’s health care reform and thus have access to health care records of Americans, while IRS officials apologized for the recent developments.

This Week’s Hearings:

  • Wednesday, June 12: The House Committee on Ways and Means will hold a hearing titled “U.S.-Brazil Trade and Investment Relationship: Opportunities and Challenges.”
  • Thursday, June 13: The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing titled “Tax Reform: Tax Havens, Base Erosion and Profit-Shifting.”