Daily Deduction “Keep movin’, movin’, movin’, though they’re disapprovin'…”
Renu Zaretsky
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The House Steering Committee choice for Ways & Means Chair is (drumroll, please) Kevin Brady. The Republican from Texas beat out Pat Tiberi of Ohio. The House GOP conference could ratify the choice in a special meeting today. Tiberi had hoped to win the post based on his fundraising ability, but Brady has more seniority and stronger support among conservatives. House Highway bill votes are underway. The bill still includes a $2.4 billion provision that requires the IRS to use private debt collectors to go after unpaid tax debts. Not only did an amendment to raise the federal gas tax fail but the House approved a non-binding “sense of Congress” resolution that calls for phasing out the gasoline tax. Treasury is targeting “earnings-stripping.” Treasury officials say they are writing guidance aimed at curbing the practice of earnings stripping, where multinationals shift income to low-tax countries and deductions for interest and other expenses to the high tax-rate US. No word on when the regs will come down, however. In Michigan: A road plan! GOP Governor Rick Snyder signs into law this week a long-sought $1.2 billion road funding deal. Michigan fuel taxes and registration fees will go up in 2017. The Homestead Property Tax Credit will also increase in 2018. The deal also includes a state income-tax rollback trigger that starts in 2023. As for state election results… TPC’s Richard Auxier gives a bottom line. “Voters in Washington, Texas, Ohio, and Colorado spoke: They like tax cuts but still have questions about legal marijuana.” Treasury has a new retirement savings plan. The “myRA” plan targets savers who don’t have access to employer-based plans. A saver’s employer can directly deposit an employee’s after-tax income into the fee-free myRA account  or a saver can schedule contributions through a checking or savings account or direct a tax refund to it. The account requires no  minimum balances or minimum contributions, and participants can withdraw funds at any time, tax-free. Savers with accounts exceeding $15,000 would need to move the funds into a private-sector Roth IRA. Speaking of taxes and retirement: What do women think? The Tax Hound returns with a look at whether tax-advantaged accounts—like an IRA or 403(b)—encourage women to save. In case you missed Tuesday’s TPC tax reform panel… TPC’s Howard Gleckman offers a recap. Tax reform is, as ever, possible. But “the challenge is to wrap the idea of reform around a simple, compelling story that lawmakers can understand.” Interested in subscribing to the Daily Deduction, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center summary of the day’s tax news? Sign-up here to get the Daily Deduction delivered to your inbox every morning. If you’d like to tell us about a new research paper or have any comments about our feature, write us at dailydeduction “at” taxpolicycenter “dot” org.