CFO Slice

Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) has published the Senate's version of President Donald Trump's signature tax and spending package, offering more permanent business tax breaks, deeper cuts to Medicaid, slower phaseouts for clean-energy tax credits and a much lower cap of $10,000 on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. “This bill prevents an over-$4tn tax hike and makes the successful 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, enabling families and businesses to save and plan for the future,” Mr. Crapo said. The Senate version's changes include a diluted, delayed version of the House bill's Section 899 "revenge" tax, a levy that would increase tax rates for individuals and companies from countries whose tax policies the government deems “discriminatory.” It would increase the maximum per-child Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $2,200, making it permanent and adjusting it for inflation in later years. It also caps the amount of tipped wages that can be exempt from taxation at $25,000 per individual, and overtime at $12,500 per individual and $25,000 per couple. The maximum $4,000 bonus standard deduction for seniors is increased to $6,000, to better offset all Social Security taxes paid. The Senate bill makes more aggressive cuts to the Medicaid program for low-income and disabled people than the House version, and requires parents with children 15 and older to work or do community service for 80 hours per month to qualify for health insurance through Medicaid. The bill’s release kick-starts a period of intense negotiations in the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-47 majority. “I don’t know if anybody’s comfortable with anything totally right now,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK). “Everything’s on the table; everything’s being discussed.”