Directly from the Committee on Ways and Means
Five days before Christmas, the Senate passed the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" by a party-line vote of 51 to 48, with Republican Senator McCain absent for medical reasons. No matter your political affiliation, almost everyone agrees that is the most sweeping overhaul of the US tax system in more than 30 years.
While the bill has dominated the news lately and gone back and forth between the House of Representatives and the Senate, let’s explore how the bill is summarized from the Committee on Ways and Means.
In the House of Representatives, there are 20 permanent committees; in the Senate, there are 21 committees and there are four joint committees comprised of members from both the House and the Senate.
The Committee on Ways and Means is the oldest committee of the United States Congress and is the chief tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives, deriving much of its authority from Article 1 of the US Constitution that states, “all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.”
Here is exactly what the Committee on Ways and Means had to say about the 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act (see waysandmeans.house.gov for additional information):
“The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) overhauls America’s tax code to deliver historic tax relief for workers, families and job creators, and revitalize our nation’s economy. By lowering taxes across the board, eliminating costly special-interest tax breaks, and modernizing our international tax system, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will help create more jobs, increase paychecks, and make the tax code simpler and fairer for Americans of all walks of life.
With this bill, the typical family of four earning the median family income of $73,000 will receive a tax cut of $2,059.”
The Committee on Ways and Means further went on to say that their bill:
There are a ton of additional changes to Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – in fact it’s now over 500 pages long. The Committee on Ways and Means for sure has an interesting perspective, but it’s only one perspective.
The point is that it’s critically important that you consult your financial advisor and tax specialist to determine how this new tax bill might impact you and your family.