G.O.P. Rushed to Pass Tax Overhaul. Now It May Need to Be Altered.
- 6 years ago
G.O.P. Rushed to Pass Tax Overhaul. Now It May Need to Be Altered.
The conservative Tax Foundation said that the flaw should be addressed quickly, saying that,
if left in place, “the deduction would allow some farmers to effectively become tax-exempt.”
Leaders of independent grain companies from Oklahoma, Minnesota and South Dakota traveled to Washington in late February to make their case to lawmakers
that a fix was urgently needed, warning that businesses like theirs could collapse or be sold.
“We will be much more receptive to selling our business if this happens,” said Todd Lafferty, co-chief executive of Wheeler Brothers
Grain Company in Watonga, Okla. “It’s going to result in further consolidation of the industry, but that’s not what we want to do.”
Mr. Lafferty, a Republican, said he was excited about the new tax legislation until he heard about the provision.
Companies and trade groups are pushing the Treasury Department and Congress to fix the law’s consequences, some intended and some not, including provisions
that disadvantage certain farmers, hurt restaurateurs and retailers and could balloon the tax bills of large multinational corporations.
“We’re not just going to sit down and fix the things they did badly because they did it in the dead of night with lobbyists at the table.”
A second, much larger group of issues are those that need Treasury clarification — areas of the law
that companies say could be construed in any number of ways, with vastly differing consequences for tax liabilities.
At the same event, an Eli Lilly official said the provisions discouraged companies from holding intellectual property in the United States, counter to the intent of Congress,
because they forced those companies to reimburse foreign affiliates doing work outside the country.
The conservative Tax Foundation said that the flaw should be addressed quickly, saying that,
if left in place, “the deduction would allow some farmers to effectively become tax-exempt.”
Leaders of independent grain companies from Oklahoma, Minnesota and South Dakota traveled to Washington in late February to make their case to lawmakers
that a fix was urgently needed, warning that businesses like theirs could collapse or be sold.
“We will be much more receptive to selling our business if this happens,” said Todd Lafferty, co-chief executive of Wheeler Brothers
Grain Company in Watonga, Okla. “It’s going to result in further consolidation of the industry, but that’s not what we want to do.”
Mr. Lafferty, a Republican, said he was excited about the new tax legislation until he heard about the provision.
Companies and trade groups are pushing the Treasury Department and Congress to fix the law’s consequences, some intended and some not, including provisions
that disadvantage certain farmers, hurt restaurateurs and retailers and could balloon the tax bills of large multinational corporations.
“We’re not just going to sit down and fix the things they did badly because they did it in the dead of night with lobbyists at the table.”
A second, much larger group of issues are those that need Treasury clarification — areas of the law
that companies say could be construed in any number of ways, with vastly differing consequences for tax liabilities.
At the same event, an Eli Lilly official said the provisions discouraged companies from holding intellectual property in the United States, counter to the intent of Congress,
because they forced those companies to reimburse foreign affiliates doing work outside the country.