Tax Reform

Yesterday, family business owners in The Diamond State were happy to hear that the state Senate passed a bill, repealing Delaware’s estate tax. Despite the fact that estate tax repeal is a traditionally Republican priority, several Democrats crossed the political aisle to repeal the tax. For many business owners in Delaware, the relief couldn’t have come soon enough. Currently, Delaware’s estate tax exemption is set to match the federal exemption level of $5.49 million, however, for many inventory-heavy Delaware businesses, the additional state estate tax can have crippling economic effects. Often, business owners…continue reading →

Washington, DC: Today the Family Business Coalition sent a letter to Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Congresswoman Kristi Noem (R-SD) supporting their introduction of the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017. 133 trade associations and advocacy organizations representing a wide range of America’s family businesses joined the letter in support the legislation. The coalition letter states in part, “The negative effects of the estate tax make permanent repeal the only solution for family businesses and farms. Your legislation will help America’s family businesses create jobs, expand operations, and grow the economy.” Palmer Schoening,…continue reading →

By Ashlea Ebeling Estate tax foes have been waiting for a Republican president to make repeal happen, and now they have their chance with President-elect Donald Trump. “It will still be a heavy lift but not insurmountable as it has been with [President Barack] Obama in office,” says Palmer Schoening, head of the Family Business Coalition. “Trump made repealing the death tax a key tenet of his tax reform proposal, and we look forward to working with him to see it through.” Trump’s tax plan calls for repealing the estate tax, and imposing…continue reading →

By Bruce Nevins Now that Donald Trump has cleared a crowded Republican field to likely capture the GOP nomination, and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is close to clinching her own party’s, it is time to close the book on the 2016 presidential primary season and see the candidates put their money where their mouths are when it comes to the promises made to the stalwart subject of rope-line rhetoric: Main Street. So what can those of us who count ourselves among “everyday Americans” actually expect? If you’re a New Yorker, the first policy…continue reading →

By Robert Brett Before Pennsylvanians headed to the polls for our April 26th primary, we had to navigate through a myriad of position, records, and statements to decide which candidate will take America forward. Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, we've heard so much on why this candidate is better than that one, policy "A" will work but policy "B" is malarkey, and so on and so forth. But there is one position that every candidate and a vast majority of voters agree on: America needs to completely overhaul our tax code now. For…continue reading →

PALMER SCHOENING   |   APRIL 28, 2016 This year, a number of tax proposals have been offered in Congress to fix specific sections of the tax code that hold back small businesses. The Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees have worked hard to lay out a vision for tax reform that incorporates ideas from individual members and businesses through a series of working groups. Just last week, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Kevin Brady announced that the committee will release a blueprint for tax reform in June. With so many…continue reading →

Ashlea Ebeling, Forbes Staff Most Americans side with Republican presidential candidates, saying they would ditch the federal estate tax, according to a new Gallup poll on reactions to the candidates’ tax proposals. When asked about the proposal to “eliminate the estate tax that is paid when a person dies,” 54% agreed, only 19% disagreed, and 26% said they didn’t know enough to have an opinion. Yet, the other proposal to get majority support in the Gallup poll was Trump’s proposal to “eliminate most federal income tax deductions and loopholes available to the very…continue reading →

By Mark Schoeff Jr. The promotion of Rep. Kevin Brady to chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee gives new House Speaker Paul Ryan a key partner on tax-reform efforts, according to experts.Selected by his Republican colleagues earlier this month to head the panel, Mr. Brady, R-Texas, succeeds Mr. Ryan, R-Wisc., in the role. The committee has jurisdiction over tax, trade and entitlement policy.The gavel is being handed to someone who, like Mr. Ryan, has made tax-reform a legislative signature.“He has been very active in tax reform and as chairman, he'll advance…continue reading →

By Mark Schoeff Jr. The House of Representatives approved two bills Thursday that would repeal the estate tax and make permanent deductions for state and local sales taxes. But the bills face a challenge in the Senate and opposition from the White House.Lawmakers passed the estate tax bill 240-179 and the sales tax legislation 272-152, with votes that fell short of the number needed to override a veto. Earlier in the week, the White House came out against both bills. Read more herecontinue reading →