New Presidential
Administration
The Impact of
Proposed Policy Changes
TAX REFORM:
Banning the Banter
Tax Strategy In An Era Of Uncertainty
Since President Donald Trump took office earlier this year there has been a lot of buzz about
his administration’s stance on a number of high profile issues. As a result, we’ve found
ourselves on the receiving end of questions about potential policy changes and
how businesses could be impacted in the months and years ahead.
In some ways, answering questions about the future of tax reform and the
Affordable Care Act is difficult because we, like you, are still unsure about
many of the details. But it’s also easy because, even if a concrete plan
were available, transitioning that plan into law will be a long, drawn-
out process that requires much debate, discussion, alterations and
time. The simple truth is that we don’t have any answers at this
time – no one does.
THE YEAR AHEAD
We often say that summer is the best time to identify and imple-
ment a tax planning strategy – and that holds true today. Just be-
cause there is uncertainty in Washington doesn’t mean the same
should be true for your business. There are still solid strategies
you can put into action now – particularly because the likelihood of
tax reform passing through Congress this year is slim.
Not only are we already halfway through the year, Congress is still on
track to take its annual August recess, which means nothing will likely
move forward until September. And, even then, with the government’s
fiscal year concluding on Sept. 30, it will probably be the end of the cal-
endar year before anything tangible makes its way through the legislation.
In fact, there have been years in which we’ve seen a lot of tax changes come
through in December or January of the following year. However, with the sort of
overhaul being discussed, I believe it’s unlikely that anything will be pushed through or
made retroactive in 2017.
That being said, there are still quite a few provisions business owners can take advantage of, such as
179 expensing limitations, bonus depreciation and the research and development credit. The Protect-
ing Americans From Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act), which was made retroactive to Jan. 1, 2015,
made several key tax provisions permanent while extending others. And while tax reform may eventu-
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