On April 26, 2017, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn introduced the Trump Administration’s tax reform proposal (the “Trump Proposal”) in a briefing. The proposal appears to borrow heavily from the tax reform plan put out by Mr. Trump during his presidential campaign with the significant exception that this reform proposal advocates adoption of a territorial tax system.

The proposal, set forth in a bulleted one-page document, was notably short on detail, and Secretary Mnuchin stated that many details will be finalized in subsequent discussions with Congress. Below, we highlight the major components in the Trump Proposal that we anticipate will be of the greatest interest to our clients.

Major Proposals

Reduce the number of individual tax rate brackets. Under the Trump Proposal, the top rate for individual income tax would go down to 35 percent from its current rate of 39.6 percent (which is above the top rate of 33 percent proposed by Mr. Trump during his presidential campaign). The number of tax brackets would also be reduced from seven to three (10 percent, 25 percent, and 35 percent). Effectively, these changes would reduce income tax rates for most individual taxpayers, though no determination has been made on the income levels where these brackets would be set.

Expanded standard deduction. The standard deduction for individuals would be doubled under the Trump Proposal, which would effectively create a zero rate for many lower income taxpayers. Additionally, a higher standard deduction would reduce the number of taxpayers who would use itemized deductions, thus simplifying the return filing process for many taxpayers.

Eliminate most individual deductions. Secretary Mnuchin noted that most individual deductions will be eliminated, with the exception of the mortgage interest deduction and the charitable contribution deduction. This change may prove controversial because it repeals the deduction for state and local income taxes.

Other individual provisions. Consistent with the Trump campaign’s position, the proposal also would repeal the alternative minimum tax, the estate tax, and the Affordable Care Act’s 3.8 percent tax on net investment income.

Adoption of a territorial system. The Administration would also shift the United States to a territorial tax system, a proposal that was also advocated in the House Republican Tax Reform Blueprint (the “House Blueprint”)1 released last year, as a way to “level the playing field” for U.S. companies. A territorial tax system generally would exempt from taxation the foreign earning of U.S. headquartered companies. This is a significant change from an early Trump campaign position that advocated a worldwide tax system without deferral.

One-time repatriation tax. The Trump Proposal includes a one-time repatriation tax on the foreign earnings of U.S. companies, which is consistent with the Trump campaign position. However, in his remarks, Secretary Mnuchin did not give a specific repatriation rate even though the Trump Administration in prior comments has advocated for a 10 percent repatriation rate. This may suggest that the Administration is moving to the House Blueprint’s suggested bifurcated rates of 3.5 percent for foreign earnings and profits invested in “hard” assets and 8.75 percent for earnings and profits held as cash equivalents.

15 Percent business income rate and treatment of pass-through entities. The Trump Proposal would impose a 15 percent rate on all business income, including corporations and individuals receiving business income from S corporations, partnerships and other pass-throughs. It is uncertain whether this 15 percent rate will apply to all pass-through income. Secretary Mnuchin has previously stated that the 15 percent business rate would apply to small business income but would not be “a loophole for people that should be paying a higher rate.”

No mention of a cash-basis tax system or the border adjustability tax. The Trump Proposal did not contain any discussion of a cash-basis tax system or the border adjustability approach under the House Blueprint. Under the tax reform proposals of the Trump campaign, U.S. manufacturers would have been allowed to elect full and immediate expensing (subject to loss of the interest deduction) or retain current law depreciation and interest deductions. The Trump Proposal did not contain this earlier campaign proposal. On the issue of the border adjustable tax, Secretary Mnuchin noted that the Administration was continuing discussions with the House. Because the Trump Proposal briefing only provided a general overview of the Administration’s proposals, it is possible that President Trump could endorse either of these ideas at a later date.

At this point, it remains unclear how the Trump Proposal will affect the current tax policy debate or the ongoing tax reform process. Given the fast pace of tax reform efforts, we anticipate that we will issue Alerts regularly with new developments.

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1 The House Republican tax reform proposal is formally titled “A Better Way: A Pro-Growth Tax Code for All Americans.”

 

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Photo of Ed McClellan Ed McClellan

Clients relied on Ed McClellan’s experienced counsel for their most technically sophisticated tax legislative challenges. Ed had over 35 years of experience in tax policy and technical tax analysis, having spent 16 years in private practice before serving as Tax Counsel on the…

Clients relied on Ed McClellan’s experienced counsel for their most technically sophisticated tax legislative challenges. Ed had over 35 years of experience in tax policy and technical tax analysis, having spent 16 years in private practice before serving as Tax Counsel on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. A member of the Tax and the Public Policy practices, his practiced focused on federal tax legislation.

Ed advised clients across a wide range of industries on legislation relating to international taxation, domestic corporate taxation, corporate integration, redomiciliations, financial services, capital gains, dividend taxation, financial products, REITS, pass throughs, and accounting methods.

During his seven-year tenure with the Senate Finance Committee, Ed served as a lead tax counsel on the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002, the FSC Repeal and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act of 2000, and the Tax Relief Act of 2001.

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Photo of Dirk Suringa Dirk Suringa

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Dirk Suringa co-chairs the firm’s Tax Practice Group. He advises clients on the Federal income tax aspects of domestic and international transactions and structures and represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the Treasury Department, and in the Federal courts. Dirk served as Attorney-Advisor in the Department of the Treasury’s Office of International Tax Counsel from 2000 to 2003. From 1996 to 1997, he clerked for the Honorable Gerald B. Tjoflat, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Dirk is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Fiscal Association, U.S. Branch. He is the author of numerous articles on international tax matters, including the BNA Tax Management Portfolio on the Foreign Tax Credit Limitation.

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Photo of Michael Caballero Michael Caballero

Michael Caballero is a partner in the Washington office and a vice chair of the Tax Practice Group. His practice focuses on international tax matters, including structural and transactional tax planning, tax controversy, and tax policy work.

Michael previously served as International Tax…

Michael Caballero is a partner in the Washington office and a vice chair of the Tax Practice Group. His practice focuses on international tax matters, including structural and transactional tax planning, tax controversy, and tax policy work.

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