By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday is set to vote on a $78 billion bipartisan package of tax breaks for businesses and low-income families that was put on a fast track even as Congress remains deadlocked over broader fiscal issues.
The temporary tax measure, which would increase the Child Tax Credit and reinstate deductions on business research and development and capital investments through 2025, was given a green light by House Speaker Mike Johnson after negotiations with some of his fellow Republicans who objected to its lack of tax relief for state and local taxes (SALT).
Johnson agreed to continue working with members and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith “to find a path forward for legislation related to SALT,” Johnson spokesperson Athina Lawson said in a statement.
The tax breaks measure is being considered under a suspension of House rules, which requires a two-thirds majority vote — a difficult threshold to meet, especially with defectors expected among both Republicans and Democrats.
“I think they’ve got some real problems right now” with passage, said Democratic Representative Richard Neal, adding that some lawmakers from high-tax, expensive housing states in both parties may have difficulties because it fails to address demands on state and local taxes.
A Republican-passed tax-cut bill passed in 2017 capped the individual deductions for mortgage interest and state and local tax payments to help pay for business tax cuts. Some lawmakers in New York and California have sought to remove the caps, which led to higher overall tax bills for many taxpayers despite lower tax rates.
Still, a 40-3 vote advancing the measure in the House Ways and Means Committee indicated strong bipartisan support for restoring full business expensing of R&D and certain equipment costs as well as increasing the money that low-income families with children can receive, even if they don’t owe taxes.
Johnson in a statement praised the tax breaks package as “important bipartisan legislation to revive conservative pro-growth tax reform. Crucially, the bill also ends a wasteful COVID-era program, saving taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.”
He was referring to an early end to claims by businesses for the Employee Retention Tax Credit, a program launched in 2020 during the Trump administration to encourage companies to keep workers on payrolls during the pandemic.
The program has been marred by fraudulent claims. The provision would increase penalties for these and largely pay for the additional spending on business and child tax breaks, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
(Reporting by David Lawder, additional reporting by David Morgan; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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