“199A is Another Powerful Tool Where You Get Some Parity with Corporate America”
Discusses Tax Relief for Workers, Support for Small Businesses and Faster Refund Processing
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, highlighted the early impact of Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts during a full committee hearing with Internal Revenue Service Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano. The hearing focused on how recent Republicans’ tax reforms are delivering relief to workers, seniors and small businesses while improving service at the IRS.
During the hearing, Buchanan emphasized the importance of pro-growth tax policies that support entrepreneurs and job creators, including full expensing and the Section 199A small business deduction. He also highlighted new tax relief provisions, including his “No Tax on Tips[RA1] ” provision, as well as the elimination of taxes on overtime, and reductions in taxes on Social Security benefits for many seniors.
Witnesses included the Honorable Frank J. Bisignano, Chief Executive Officer of the Internal Revenue Service.
Click here to watch Congressman Buchanan’s remarks.
Here’s what Buchanan said about the impact of tax relief for working families and small businesses:
On the importance of small businesses to the American economy
Buchanan: “We have similar backgrounds in a sense. I was in business for 30 years, but I also chaired the Florida Chamber [of Commerce]. We had 130,000 businesses that were in that chamber. Part of my job was to try to work with a lot of mid -size and small companies. That’s always been my focus coming up here. People said why are you so focused that way? I said because they’re the job creators.
“Most of those 130,000 businesses weren’t big companies. There were quite a few that were. Most of them—93 percent—were pass-through entities. That’s why I’m so excited about what we’ve got done on the tax front, and I know you feel the same way ... I’m excited about the idea of full expensing, it’s a powerful tool, whether you’re buying or selling. Also, 199A is another powerful tool where you get some parity with corporate America in terms of areduction of 20 percent.”
On tax relief for workers, seniors and families
Buchanan: “What I’m hearing back home in Florida is they’re very excited about no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, minimal tax on Social Security ... Give me your thoughts ... in terms of where that’s at. I know you’ve hired quite a few people, but the big thing is, they want to make sure they get their benefits.”
Bisignano: “Well, daily, myself—as I have my whole career—and the Treasury Secretary review the stats of the IRS and our most important stat is serving the American public, both what comes in and how quick it goes out, and you heard me talk about building new technology so items that took 16 weeks like a mandatory return are down to 1 week. I applaud your passion for small business. Through my career, I was with the largest technology provider to small businesses across Americaand I understand, to me it’s the lifeblood of America, right? And many small businesses are owned by an entrepreneur that, in fact, really is a risk taker because they’re risking their whole family’s income on their ability to operate. Our ability to deliver for them is so darn important.”
Buchanan: “Let me just add to it ... My wife’s here today. We started a company together, two of us, and it ended up being a billion dollars. So that’s the America that I believe in, that anything’s possible.”
On improving the IRS experience for taxpayers and businesses
Buchanan: “One of the questions I get a lot is, in terms of dealing with the IRS, people have had struggles where they have a challenge from the IRS. Many times, that could go on for three or four years. You got legal fees, you got accounting fees, you got everything else. What can we do to expedite or help push to expedite that so people can get back on their feet quicker, in terms of small business people?”
Bisignano: “I like to talk about the governance model, sir, that we’re running the IRS under, which is a pretty consistent governance model, and I’m going to hit on one element of it. Obviously, the staff and I get together every week, two hours, once a month, all day, to go through everything in the agency to ensure we’re delivering. Once a week, we look at ... the key operating indicators of the business. And we have two levels deep coming in, representing their numbers. And we now implement aging. How old is the oldest item? We talk about beating whatever the best record ever had and then beating it again. I talked about the weekly risk meeting, and we look at every item we procure for over $300,000. It’s a governance model designed to serve the American public. Most of the indicators are about how are we serving the American public. I look at them daily, and so does the Treasury Secretary.”
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