Buchanan leads more than 70 Republicans in offering bill to make tax cuts permanent

Certain tax cuts affecting individuals, families, and small businesses would be permanently preserved under legislation unveiled on Friday by U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), and 70 of their Republican colleagues. 

The tax cuts originally enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 would become permanent under the proposed TCJA Permanency Act, H.R. 976, which Rep. Buchanan sponsored on Feb. 10 with his GOP colleagues. Without congressional action, 23 different provisions of the TCJA are set to expire after 2025.

“In 2017, Republicans delivered the most comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than three decades and achieved historic economic growth,” said Rep. Buchanan. “With Americans continuing to suffer under the weight of record-high inflation and an uncertain economic future, we need to provide some much-needed relief and certainty to hardworking families and Main Street businesses and ensure these tax cuts do not expire.”

If enacted, H.R. 976 would permanently lower tax rates for individuals and families; preserve the 20-percent deduction for small businesses; and maintain the higher standard deduction, increasing the amount of tax-free income a middle-class family can earn, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

Additionally, H.R. 976 would lock in the doubled child tax credit to help encourage workforce participation, and permanently simplify the tax filing process by allowing the full benefit of tax deductions without tracking receipts or itemizing, the summary says.

“Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act radically transformed the economy, bringing wages that far outpaced inflation, record lows in unemployment, and tax decreases that left more money in people’s wallets,” said Rep. McCaul. “I’m proud to join this effort to provide permanent relief, ensuring families and small businesses will always have a chance to prosper.”

Rep. Feenstra agreed, calling the 2017 TCJA an important victory for Iowa families, farmers, small businesses, and the economy. 

“As a longtime advocate for common-sense tax reform, we cannot allow these tax cuts to expire due to congressional inaction,” said Rep. Feenstra. “That’s why I’m working with my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee to quickly pass the TCJA Permanency Act and ensure that Iowans continue to benefit from these well-deserved tax cuts.”

H.R. 976 has garnered support from Americans for Tax Reform, the America First Policy Institute, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Heritage Action, the National Association of Manufacturers, the S-Corp Association, the National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Prosperity, and the American Farm Bureau Federation.