Lawmakers who attended a closed-door meeting of panel Republicans on Thursday revealed that the goal is to complete a markup of the bill by the following Friday.
The House Ways and Means Committee is gearing up to review a set of tax breaks for individuals and businesses in the coming week, signaling the GOP’s priorities ahead of potential bipartisan tax discussions later this year
According to Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan., there is sufficient support on the committee to advance the bill to the floor.
Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., had previously briefed various House GOP groups on the tax package he’s developing, including the House Freedom Caucus, Main Street Caucus, Republican Governance Group, and opponents of the $10,000 cap on deducting state and local taxes (SALT cap).
Smith emphasized that his tax bill’s focus is on “helping working-class families, small businesses, and building in America.” The package is expected to reintroduce tax incentives for businesses that were reduced or eliminated under the 2017 GOP tax law. It will likely bring back larger or more immediate tax deductions for research and development (R&D) spending, interest expenses, and short-term asset purchases such as equipment and machinery.
Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., noted that certain aspects of the bill have strong bipartisan support, so part of the discussion during the meeting was ensuring that GOP tax writers were comfortable with those provisions.
Restoring full and immediate write-offs for R&D costs garnered particularly strong and vocal bipartisan backing
Hern suggested that this could involve repealing clean energy tax credits from the Democrats’ 2022 climate, health, and tax law, which the House GOP also proposed cutting in their previous debt limit package.
The GOP is also expected to include language raising the threshold for tax reporting on online sales and gig work on platforms like PayPal, Venmo, eBay, Etsy, Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb. This threshold was introduced by Democrats in 2021 as part of their pandemic aid package. Offering some relief enjoys bipartisan support, although GOP lawmakers have proposed a complete reversal to a $20,000 threshold. The bill is also anticipated to reduce taxes for households, potentially through an increased standard deduction that benefits most taxpayers.
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