The House Ways and Means Committee’s new “tax teams” are front and center as lawmakers look ahead to next year’s tax cliff, but the GOP-only groups have prompted some confusion and complaints of a missed opportunity for bipartisanship.
Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., in April unveiled the 10 tax teams charged with preparing for the 2025 expiration of provisions of the 2017 tax law. Unlike earlier iterations of working groups leading up to the 2017 law, Smith’s tax teams are Republican-only and linked to broad topic areas, such as working families, rural America and global competitiveness, rather than traditional parts of the tax code.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., who is leading the Working Families team charged with reviewing expiring individual tax provisions, said the teams’ goal is to gather stakeholder and constituent feedback ahead of next year’s expirations.
