Future of the Tax Extenders Movement Uncertain

Neither congressional tax-writing committee has a clear path for advancing the recently expired package of 55 tax provisions, and few lawmakers are willing to publicly advocate for anything less than a comprehensive and highly improbable rewrite of the tax code. This week, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) called for a case-by-case examination of the expired provisions. He stated, “The extender package is a very difficult thing to do, and I’m going to insist that we cut back rather than just keep all of them.” Furthermore, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) continues to hold hard and fast that his focus is on promoting a comprehensive reform and that scrutinizing the extenders would be part of that process, with no separate action on them by the committee. Committee aides acknowledged in the fall that withholding the tax extenders gives the chairman leverage in getting businesses to participate in the reform efforts. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) recently said he is working with Senate leaders on the expired tax provisions as the sole agenda before he begins his confirmation hearings for ambassador in the coming weeks. He noted that lawmakers are “trying to see our way through” on how to deal with the tax extenders, and that “there’s a lot of discussion, a lot of interest.” It is unclear whether the incoming Finance Chairman, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), will immediately act on the tax extenders, some of which he asked for expeditious retroactive passage as the current Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman. AGC continues to advocate for comprehensive tax reform, as well as maintaining predictability and certainty for businesses that rely on accurately accounting for certain tax provisions on their financial statements. For more information, please contact Brian Lenihan at (202) 547-4733 or lenihanb@agc.org.