Policy

Senate Finance Committee Moves on Tax Extenders


by FEI Daily Staff

The Senate Finance Committee Thursday approved a bill to renew nearly all of the 55 business and individual tax provisions that expired Dec. 31, 2013 for two years.

The “Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act,” would extend 53 provisions, including the deduction for state and local taxes and the research and development tax credit, through Dec. 31, 2015.

The $86 billion bill is the first to be approved under Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) who assumed the chairmanship of the Finance Committee earlier this year following the departure of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to become U.S. ambassador to China. Wyden announced yesterday that the Finance Committee would not take up another tax extenders bill again. Instead, he said that Congress should revamp the entire tax code and pledged to work on bipartisan ideas with Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and hold a hearing on tax reform in the spring.

House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), who this week announced his retirement from Congress at the end of his term, released a comprehensive tax reform discussion draft on Feb. 26 that would make permanent some tax extenders and eliminate many others. Camp will hold a hearing April 8 on those tax extenders his discussion draft would make permanent.

Financial Executives International supports efforts to reform the tax code but also urges Congress to renew the tax extender provisions that expired at the end of 2013 in a timely manner to provide U.S. businesses with continuity and certainty for planning.

For more information, contact Karen Lapsevic, Director, Government Affairs, at 202-626-7809 or [email protected].