Tax Cuts Were Top of Mind on the Tax Foundation’s Annual ‘Prom’

Life was good for the tuxedoed and gowned tax lobbyists lined up final month alongside Washington’s waterfront to get into “Tax Prom,” a wonky occasion even by the requirements of a metropolis peopled by coverage nerds.

After a Republican sweep to energy, Congress was beginning to negotiate a sweeping tax invoice, a boon for an business that thrives when lawmakers rework the tax code. The company tax price might drop. Tax breaks for analysis and improvement might return. A deduction for the house owners of many companies would possible stay in place.

So there was a way of optimism at this yr’s celebration of the capital’s tax professionals. Hosted yearly by the Tax Foundation, a suppose tank that typically favors decrease taxes, and sponsored by main companies, Tax Prom is Washington community par excellence.

Congressional workers and lobbyists chatted on the open bar. An advocacy group in search of larger taxes ran ads criticizing the occasion. Kim Reynolds, the Republican governor of Iowa who has repeatedly lower taxes, obtained the occasion’s annual award. Attendees availed themselves of the chance to make jokes about depreciation schedules — and possibly really get fun.

But even with the circumstances ripe for slicing taxes subsequent yr, the village of consultants, legal professionals and former congressional aides that foyer Capitol Hill weren’t able to let its guard down.

Tax cuts price cash, and a few firms are on alert for Republicans that will pare again company tax breaks to avoid wasting income. Various industries and corporations have an array of typically conflicting calls for of Congress, turning subsequent yr’s tax invoice into one other enviornment for company competitors. Then there are those that don’t wish to miss out a chance to worm an advantageous tax grow to be regulation.