House Ways and Means Committee Passes Second Round of Tax Cuts

Last week the House Ways and Means Committee passed a second phase of tax cuts to follow last year’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, sending the legislation to the House floor for a vote. The plan includes a trio of bills – the Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2018 (H.R. 6760), the Family Savings Act of 2018 (H.R. 6757) and the American Innovation Act of 2018 (H.R. 6756) – to make temporary tax breaks permanent and create several other new breaks, including an extension of the individual and small business tax cuts due to expire in 2025, an expanded child tax credit and the creation of “Universal Savings Accounts.” The proposal would also make the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions permanent, which is a controversial provision and may ultimately hinder the proposals from passing the full House. These bills are also not expected to advance in the Senate, where they would need 60 votes to pass. The proposal is estimated to cost more than $600 billion over the next decade and does not include any provisions to offset this cost. There are also no provisions that reference affordable housing or community development programs in these tax bills. Stay tuned to the ACTION Campaign website for updates on Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) advocacy and the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Coalition website for updates on NMTC advocacy.