Press Release
Posted:
Washington – Today Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures Mike Thompson (CA-05) announced the introduction of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019, a bill extending a number of important expired and expiring tax provisions, including disaster tax relief. The House Committee on Ways and Means has announced a markup of this bill on Thursday, June 20. A statement from Chairman Thompson on this package is below.
“For far too long, Congress has not extended important tax provisions in a forward-looking basis, resulting in confusion and uncertainty for taxpayers. This week, we take the first step forward in untangling this mess. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 extends a number of provisions that expired at the end of 2017 and 2018 and that will expire at the end of this year and the bill is a critical piece of doing right by the taxpayer.
“Importantly, this bill includes an extension of important disaster tax relief provisions to help regions hit by natural disasters, such as our California wildfires. Disaster survivors should be focused on recovery, not pleading their case to Congress. That’s why we have included these important tax relief provisions for areas recovering from disasters that occurred between January 1, 2018 and up to 30 days after the bill is enacted into law.
“The provisions in this critical tax extenders legislation are offset responsibly and I look forward to marking up this bill and other packages to extend these vital tax provisions. This is an important start and will continue working to provide critical tax relief to the American people.”
This bill responsibly extends expired and expiring tax provisions through 2020, including the New Markets Tax Credit, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, the credit for biodiesel and biofuels, credits for energy-efficiency improvements to commercial buildings and energy-efficient homes, the credit for short-line railroad maintenance, reduced excise taxes on certain beer, wine and spirits, and a number of other provisions.
The bill also provides disaster tax relief to survivors of disasters that occurred between January 1, 2018 through 30 days following date of enactment of the legislation, including victims of Hurricane Florence, Nebraska Floods, California wildfires, volcanic eruptions in Hawaii, and more. The survivors of these 2018 and 2019 disasters that occur before date of enactment will not have to beg the Congress for the tax relief that they deserve.
A copy of Thompson’s Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 is attached. This is the first time in over ten years that the House Committee on Ways and Means has extended these provisions on a prospective basis. The bill responsibly offsets the cost of the expiring provisions by including a 3-year acceleration of the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s massive tax cut for the wealthiest estates in America.