Ways and Means since 2023. A second bill, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, was a bicameral agreement between the chairs of the Senate and House tax committees that contained several tax relief provisions beneficial to businesses, including reinstating full expensing for capital investment, interest deductibility for businesses forced to borrow at high rates, and the restoration of immediate R&D expensing. This bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House, passing on a 357-70 vote last January. However, it languished in the Senate for most of the year before failing a cloture vote in August by a 48-44 margin — below the 60- vote threshold needed because of the Senate’s filibuster rules. Although the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act had received widespread Republican support in the House, all but three Republicans voted against it in the Senate. Hoyt Corrigan explains the shift was likely caused by a faction of Senate Republicans that believe their party will take control of the chamber after the 2024 election, enabling them to get a “better deal” next year. “The business community is disappointed that the important business provisions included in the bill weren’t able to reach the president’s desk, and we will continue to advocate for a path forward,” she says. Public support for further tax cuts could be another challenge. A 2023 Pew Research Center report found that 61 percent of adults are “bothered a lot” that some corporations don’t pay their
fair share in federal taxes, while only 15 percent said they were “not bothered much” or “not at all.” Conversely, when it comes to their personal taxes, 38 percent of adults said they were “bothered a lot” by the amount they pay in taxes — an increase of 5 percent from two years ago.
The election winner will, of course, also be a critical factor in future tax relief. Both candidates have a starkly different view of taxation. Having already reduced the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent during his first term, Donald Trump has proposed cutting it even further to 15 percent. Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, has called for raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, a mid- point between the current rate and the rate before the TCJA. “There are clearly differences of opinion between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to tax policy, but we are also just a few short months from a major election,” Hoyt Corrigan says. “We really need to get through the election for the real work to begin so that we can identify potential legislative hurdles that need to be cleared. Further, there is no denying that the makeup of Congress and the next administration will absolutely shape the debate for next year’s tax bill. The stakes in 2025 are going to be enormous, regardless of who is in control, and it is vital that all our elected officials focus on preserving a competitive tax system and resist tax increases on individuals and businesses that would stifle that growth.”
“The stakes in 2025 are going to be enormous, regardless of who is in control, and it is vital that all our elected officials focus on preserving a competitive tax system and resist tax increases on individuals and businesses that would stifle that growth”
— Sara Hoyt Corrigan Tax Counsel, Tax Policy U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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