Reston, VA - NPES President Thayer Long praised the inclusion of the immediate full write-off of print technologies in H.R. 1 – Tax Cut & Jobs Act as a significant win for NPES members and their customers as debate on the bill began in the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill, which fleshes out the tax reform framework released by President Trump and Congressional Republican leaders in September, and is designed to overhaul America’s Tax Code for the first time since 1986.

The bill would reform both individual and business taxes by lowering tax rates on wages and investment, broadening the tax base, simplifying the tax code and moving the United States from a worldwide to a territorial tax system, more like the rest of the industrialized world.

Long commended the bill’s co-sponsors, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-1-WI), Ways & Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-8-TX) and all Ways and Means Committee Republicans. Their goal, and that of President Trump, is to enact it into law by year-end. “This is landmark legislation that aims to spur a more vibrant economy, greater prosperity and more jobs,” said Long. “But this is just the beginning of a complex legislative process, so we will monitor its progress closely as it proceeds, and weigh in when and where needed,” he added.

The Tax Foundation estimates the plan would lead to 3.9 percent higher GDP over the long term, 3.1 percent higher wages and a 10.6 percent larger capital stock, an additional 975,000 new jobs, and income increases of 2.9 percent in the short-term, rising to 4.4 percent in the long run.

100 Percent Immediate Expensing for Print Technologies

According to NPES Vice President, Government Affairs Mark J. Nuzzaco, one of NPES’s top government affairs priorities is a central provision in the bill, specifically, full and immediate 100 percent expensing of capital investment in print technologies – machinery and software – for five years. This would apply to technology acquired and placed in service after September 27, 2017 and before January 1, 2023. “While not as powerful an economic stimulus as it would be if made permanent,” as NPES has and continues to advocate, “the provision is nonetheless an important step in the right direction, and will provide a significant boost to investment, particularly if extended or made permanent in the future,” Nuzzaco emphasized.

Expansion of Section 179 “Small Business” Expensing

The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act would also greatly increase so-called Section 179 “small business” expensing by raising its limitation to $5 million (now $500 thousand), and increasing the phase-out amount to $20 million (now $2 million), again for five years, for tax years beginning after 2017 through tax years beginning before 2023.

According to the recent National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey of 14,000 of its members, 64 percent said that meaningful tax reform would cause them to invest in new equipment.

H.R. 1 - Tax Cuts & Jobs Act also contains the following other business-related provisions supported by NPES:

• Lowers Corporate Tax Rates, Including Pass-Through Entities: Provides a top corporate rate of 20 percent and 25 percent on a portion of net business income for pass-through entities that comprise a majority of smaller businesses and are the source of many jobs, including those in the printing industry.
• Repeals the Estate Tax: Provides for the preservation, continuity, and economic feasibility of transferring family-owned businesses from one generation to the next, by immediately doubling the “Death Tax” exemption to $10 million, and repealing the tax completely after six years.
• Retains the Research & Development Tax Credit, and the Full Deductibility of Advertising Expense.

Among the highlights of other important business tax provisions, H.R. 1 would:

• Repeal the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT),
• Limit the deductibility of net interest on future loans to 30 percent of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), with a five-year carryforward for all businesses with gross receipts of $25 million or more,
• Change rules on Net Operating Losses (NOLs),
• Eliminate the Section 199 manufacturing deduction,
• Impose a 20 percent excise tax on certain payments from domestic corporations to related foreign corporations, and
• Impose deemed repatriation of currently deferred foreign profits, at a rate of 12 percent for cash and cash equivalents, and 5 percent for reinvested foreign earnings.

Provisions in H.R. 1 that affect individual taxpayers will also play a crucial role in the political debate over balancing the impact of tax reform on individuals, businesses, budget deficits and economic growth, all of which will factor in determining whether there are the votes in Congress to ultimately pass the legislation.

For more information contact NPES Vice President, Government Affairs Mark J. Nuzzaco at phone: 703/264-7235, or email: [email protected].