TIA been working to help add as many cosponsors as possible before introduction of the Death Tax Repeal Act and we thank the groups that have signed on so far to our coalition letter supporting the bill.
While we’ve yet to see what form it will take, we expect that Democrats with control of Congress and the administration will at a minimum propose rolling back some of the estate tax relief from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act this year.
In his campaign tax plan, President Biden proposed reverting to 2009 law for estate and gift taxes – a unified $3.5 million exemption and 45% rate, which would triple the number of families subject to the death tax according to CBO.
Last Congress, Senate Democrats proposed an infrastructure package partly funded by rolling back the TCJA doubling of the estate tax exemption and in 2019 House Democrats passed a disaster relief package partially funded by rolling back the TCJA estate tax improvements. In our estimation that makes this “tax the rich” pay-for easy for Democrats to take back off the shelf.
As you all know, moderate Senate Democrats, including Sens. Manchin and Sinema, will play an outsized role in determining what tax increases can pass the Senate through budget reconciliation.
Both Sens. Manchin and Sinema have supported full repeal of the death tax in the past. We worked hard to secure Senator Manchin’s death tax repeal pledge which we’ve already shared again with his staff, along with our coalition letter supporting repeal.
TIA will be calling on both of these Senators and other moderate Democrats to reject any tax package that reverses the estate tax relief in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
TIA is gearing up to oppose other potential tax hikes that make it harder for family businesses to pass to the next generation.
Our TIA priorities for 2021 include not only opposing death tax hikes and supporting repeal but pushing back against many of these more creative ways to hike taxes on successful family businesses.
The first two months of 2021 have kept the Tire Industry Association (TIA) busy on the legislative affairs front. As many state legislatures opened in January, the association has been reviewing bills that have been introduced that may impact the tire industry and tire dealers. Further, TIA has been continuously managing the covid-19 pandemic response through actions on both the state and federal levels.
January's legislative affairs efforts included:
February has brought TIA’s opposition to several crumb rubber and extended producer responsibility (EPR) bills in New York, Connecticut and Maryland. This month, TIA also has:
Also in February, the TIA Government Affairs Committee and the TIA Advisory Council held meetings to discuss the pending California program for energy efficient replacement tires for passenger cars and light-duty trucks.
So far in 2021, TIA has met with the following members of Congress on webcam:
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.); Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo-8); Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.-2); Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.); Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.); Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.-8); Rep. David Trone (D-Md.-6); Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.-1); Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md-3); Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-7); Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.-5); Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.-4); Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.-2); Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.); Rep. Van Drew (R-N.J.-2); Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.-6); Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.); Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.-4); Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.-2); Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.-11); Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.-1); and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
TIA also looks forward to the opportunity to collaborate with the newly appointed Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on important highway transportation initiatives to ensure roadway investment is a top priority, make roads safer and less congested and advance the interests of the tire industry.
On February 10th, TIA took part in a Highway Users roundtable discussion with key Congressional staff focused on perspectives on the 117th Congress and transportation policy. Guest speakers examined the transportation reauthorization and the path forward from the House and Senate perspective.
Key Takeaways:
TIA thanks the Congressional speakers for participating and sharing their valuable insights.