House Republicans Moving Forward On U.S. Tax Reform

After many promises and surprising secrecy, House Republicans took a significant step toward enacting transformative federal tax legislation on November 2, 2017. The House Republicans released a bill titled the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (Act), which adopts many of the principles set forth in the nine-page framework for overhauling the U.S. system of taxation released on September 27, 2017, and is meant to be consistent with a budget reconciliation procedure. Under reconciliation, proposed legislation requires a simple majority of Senate votes, reducing the chance it will be held up on the Senate floor. Although the Act, authored by House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, will likely go through many changes prior to becoming law, this release marks the launch of what may be a whirlwind attempt to enact tax reform by the end of 2017.