Border Adjustment Biggest Concern Among Tax Executives Regarding House GOP Reform Blueprint
The border adjustment portion of the House GOP tax blueprint was the biggest concern among polled tax executives, according to the results of Miller & Chevalier Chartered’s and NFTC’s 2017 Tax Policy Forecast Survey (here). A total of 21.7 percent of responding executives said border adjustment was their most significant concern in the blueprint, while 20.9 percent said an insufficient proposed reduction of the statutory tax rate was their top concern. “This may not be surprising, considering that the border adjustment and the elimination of interest deductibility are the two proposals in the Blueprint that raise the most revenue,” the report says. “The question is whether the tax rate reduction will be large enough to make up for the tax increases resulting from these new revenue raisers.”
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The results reveal for the first time in 11 years significant optimism in the business community for comprehensive U.S. tax reform, NFTC said in a press release (here). “Nevertheless, our respondents are still uncertain as to the net impact of a comprehensive tax reform package on their businesses in light of the significant revenue-raising provisions, such as the border adjustment tax, that are being considered,” Miller & Chevalier Tax Department Vice Chair Marc Gerson said in a statement. Respondents to the survey included "vice presidents, directors and managers of tax, at a broad cross-section of U.S.- and foreign-based multinational companies," the report says.
In an emailed statement, Brady acknowledged that border adjustment is a "new concept" for companies that do business in the U.S. “It’s important for businesses to analyze the proposed approach and the implications for the way they operate," he said. "I’m confident we will design and phase in this provision in a way that works for businesses across different industries.”