The congressional budget conference committee appeared to be
closing on a budget deal last week to ease the across-the-board
automatic budget cuts known as the sequestration, as House Ways and
Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., announced he would not
mark up a tax reform bill in 2013.
Camp told reporters that time had run out of the current session
of Congress and he had no plans to release a bill before year end.
Camp also confirmed suspicions that the Ways and Means Committee
would hold off in the current year on passing any legislation
affecting tax extenders. Congress is expected to renew those
extenders retroactively in 2014 — a common practice over the
past several years.
Meanwhile, House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and
Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., each expressed
optimism that a budget deal could be reached before the
committee’s Dec. 13 deadline. The federal government faces
another government shutdown beginning on Jan. 15, 2014, unless a
new spending deal is reached.
The conference committee is reportedly discussing a deal that would
offset much of the sequestration with other spending cuts and some
new user fees. The deal is not likely to provide any framework for
tax reform, include any tax provisions or address the debt
limit.
Tax writers will likely be forced to continue to pursue tax reform
without the benefit of a broader agreement or an expedited process.
Aides to Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont.,
indicated the senator may release more tax reform discussion
drafts. Comments on his discussion drafts on tax administration,
international tax, and cost recovery and accounting are due on Jan.
17.
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