The RNC and ?? Tax law implications for engineering firms

Yesterday, the Republican National Convention officially kicked off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with former President Donald Trump easily securing the delegate votes to clinch the Republican nomination for President. We also learned that Ohio Senator and Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance will be his running mate. As Trump and Vance begin their joint campaign for the White House this week, they do so in the shadow of a thankfully failed assassination attempt on the former president.

Saturday’s events have spurred a changed political landscape – at least temporarily – with early reports from Milwaukee that the campaign's tone has shifted. Will there be a new focus on national unity? We hope so. ? ?

Our Advocacy team has largely moved to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention. Steve Hall, Dave Bender, and Allison Schneider are on-site, and we have several political events planned this week with Republican Members of Congress that are key to promoting our advocacy priorities on Capitol Hill. Watch the Last Word blog and social media this week for reports. ??

Ways and Means Committee Republicans have established 10 tax teams to review different areas of the tax code and receive stakeholder input. ACEC is meeting with several teams focused on priorities for the engineering industry – balanced tax treatment of all business structures, innovation, employee ownership, and workforce – and will submit written comments to the teams. We’re also working closely with coalition allies where our interests align, such as making Section 199A permanent and restoring the deductibility of R&D expenses. (ACEC was mentioned by name last week in a Bloomberg writeup on 199A.)?

Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Republicans have established six working groups but have not announced a formal process for stakeholder engagement. House and Senate Democrats have been meeting internally and hearing from experts on the budget impacts of extending the expiring provisions from the 2017 tax law.?

I know that the intricacies of tax policy aren’t the most fascinating subject, but these are issues with real bottom-line implications for our firms and industry. That’s why we’re jumping into these discussions while they are still in their earliest stages, making our positions known and leveraging our relationships on the Hill to affect a positive outcome.?

Finally, registration for our Fall Conference in New Orleans is now open. Scheduled for October 20-23, this year’s event – days before the election – will hold particular urgency. We are building a program that is informative, insightful, and topical, to ensure that our members are positioned to thrive irrespective of the November outcome. While it has become cliché that whoever wins is “anybody’s guess,” we aren’t leaving anything to chance. There is too much at stake for our firms – on taxes, R&D, immigration, regulation, just to name a few – for us to await the results of a coin flip. We will keep you posted on scheduled speakers. In the meantime, you can register for Fall Conference here.

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