Member turnover on the tax-writing committees and in Congress broadly has given rise to a feeling on and off Capitol Hill that nothing is off the table in next year’s tax deadline negotiations, including provisions made permanent by the 2017 tax law.
The effects of this turnover are likely to be felt more deeply in a Republican sweep or divided government next year, as churn has been more dramatic on the GOP side of the dais. The lineup changes pose two primary challenges for those who would like to see the 2017 law extended: the need to educate new members on the policies and trade-offs included in the law, and adapt to shifting political winds less friendly to wealthy individuals and big corporations.
“The political dynamic today is different than it was in 2017,” said Senate Finance Committee ranking member Michael D. Crapo, R-Idaho. “There are different approaches and philosophies about tax policy that may be stronger or weaker today than they were then. And I think that that just makes it more incumbent that we understand exactly what we did and why and how it worked.”
