IPC Optimistic After U.S. Senate Passes Tax Reform Bill

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries is optimistic about the prospects for U.S. tax reform following the U.S. Senate’s approval of a sweeping bill this weekend.

The Senate bill lowers the corporate tax rate to 20% effective on January 1, 2019; allows full and immediate expensing of capital investments placed in service between September 27, 2017 and December 31, 2022; and increases the Section 179 small business expensing cap to $1 million with a phase-out starting at $2.5 million. The approved bill also allows many small businesses that are organized as “pass through” companies to claim a 23% deduction for the non-wage portion of pass-through income.

There are significant differences between the tax reform bills passed by the Senate this past weekend and by the U.S. House of Representatives in November, creating a need for congressional leaders to iron out those differences before a final vote can occur. Several political obstacles still exist, but most observers believe the Congress and President Trump will overcome them by the end of 2017 or early 2018.

“IPC believes that U.S. tax reform is critical to long-term growth and innovation in the global electronics industry,” said John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. “Working with our members, we have advocated for a tax reform package that cuts the corporate tax rate while keeping robust incentives for innovation. The current efforts in Congress are moving in the that direction. In the days ahead, we will continue to work with our friends on Capitol Hill to advocate for our members’ interests in this legislation.”