Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee Wyden Democrats Attempt Climate Change With Import Taxes Balance / Sustainability – The Gentler Side of Shark Week Biden Must Help End Federal Cannabis Ban MORE (D-Ore.) On Tuesday released a bill that would revise a deduction for non-corporate business income created by Republican Tax Law of 2017.
The proposal comes after key Senate Democrats reached an agreement last week on a $ 3.5 trillion budget and Democrats discuss how to pay for their spending priorities.
"This bill is a win-win situation," said Wyden in a statement. "It will make politics more equitable and less complex for medium-sized entrepreneurs, while spending billions on priorities like childcare, education and health care."
The GOP Tax Act provides a 20 percent deduction for income from non-core businesses known as "pass-throughs" that pay taxes through the individual code on their owners' returns. There are companies both large and small that are organized as pass-throughs.
Wyden addressed several issues with the trigger. He highlighted a 2018 estimate by the Joint Tax Committee that much of the benefit of the deduction would go to high-income households. He also noted that the deduction is currently designed to allow entrepreneurs in some industries to benefit more from the tax break than entrepreneurs in other areas.
Service business owners such as law firms and accounting firms are subject to deduction restrictions that apply to single parents earning over $ 164,900 and married couples earning over $ 329,800.
"Half of the pass-through deduction benefit goes to millionaires, and because the benefit is so upward, many small business owners on Main Street are excluded," said Wyden. “The mega-millionaires have to write off 20 percent of their income, while the middle-class accountants are absent. It doesn't make sense, and my bill would revise the trigger to make sure the small businesses on Main Street benefit. "
Wyden's bill would phase out the deduction for households with incomes over $ 400,000 and remove industry eligibility rules. It would also simplify the calculation of the deductible amount.
Wyden released his proposal as the Democrats are trying to pass a sweeping spending bill later this year without Republican votes and are working to figure out how to fund such a move. The budget agreement, announced last week, would ease spending in areas such as health care, education and clean energy investments and would be paid for by funds that include unspecified tax increases for high-income households and businesses.
Changes to the pass-through deduction could be an attractive way for the Democrats to grow revenue. Republicans, however, are likely to argue that revising the tax break would amount to a tax hike for small businesses.
The Senate Democrats' budget deal calls for a ban on tax increases for small businesses. Wyden argued that his proposal complies with that directive.
“Let's be clear: the Democrats aren't raising taxes on real small businesses on Main Street. In fact, this proposal will lower taxes for small businesses on Main Street, ”said Wyden. "Neither will we allow Republicans and their special interests to mistakenly characterize every mega-millionaire as a small business."