“We are the only nation in the world that lets a huge chunk of its tax code expire, often for a year, and then retroactively puts it back in place.”
“That whole process is really unacceptable to me, and it puts us out of place with the rest of the world” – Dave Camp, PwC Senior Policy Advisor, addressing the 2015 AICPA Tax Conference.
Not a lot else has been said in the past several months about the fate of the tax extenders, but the spotlight is starting to return to these as the year draws to a close.
The tax extenders bill markup announced in July 2015 has prompted more than 2,000 U.S. businesses to write to Congress in September this year, demanding that Congress act on the stalled bill.
The businesses joined forces as the Broad Tax Extenders Coalition and asked Congress to act immediately by extending or making permanent the various tax provisions which, should these be allowed to expire, would increase income tax.
Eight individual tax provisions, thirty-one business tax provisions and thirteen energy-related provisions make up the tax extenders.
These are in the form of tax credits or deductions.
In past years it has been standard practice for Congress to approve a tax extenders bill. The Senate acted earlier this year than in 2014 when it was mid-December before the bill was passed.
Currently, those tax provisions were extended to 31 December 2014 and remain expired. In addition, further tax provisions are due to expire on 31 December 2015.
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen warned attendees at the 2015 AICPA tax conference that if Congress delays action on the expired tax provisions into December or approves any new tax provisions it could force a delay to the start of the 2016 filing season.
“This uncertainty imposes stress, not only on the IRS but also on the entire tax community, including everyone in this room”.
He commented further that he “will continue to urge members of Congress not to let this uncertainty drag on”.
The AICPA has also written to Congress urging immediate action on the tax extenders.
