Talking Tax Reform: Lessons Learned From the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

A major goal of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was to simplify the tax code, but how well did it achieve that goal?

While some reforms, including the expansion of the standard deduction and shift to full expensing, made aspects of the tax code simpler, some taxpayers—both individuals and businesses—are still experiencing challenges and confusion.

On Friday, February 28, our panel of experts discussed the unintended consequences of the TCJA and how they might be remedied in future reforms, including:

• Uncertainty generated by temporary tax provisions and drafting errors like the “Retail Glitch”
• Complexity created by a new deduction for pass-through business income, Section 199A
• Unintended effects stemming from new business tax policies including GILTI, BEAT, 163J, and others
• Complex interactions with federal and state tax codes

The discussion was moderated by Scott Hodge, President of the Tax Foundation, and panelists included:

• George Callas, Managing Director, Government Affairs & Public Policy, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
• Kathy Pickering, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs & Executive Director, The Tax Institute at H&R Block
• Kyle Pomerleau, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
• Eric Toder, Institute Fellow and Codirector, Tax Policy Center