Overview
Ways and Means Votes to Repeal Medical Device Tax: Today, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill, the Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 (H.R. 160), by a vote of 25-14. The bill, which eliminates the 2.3% medical device excise tax on manufacturers and importers, is scheduled for a House floor vote the week of June 15.
Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on IRS Data Breach: Today, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the recent data breach at the IRS which compromised the private information of over 100,000 taxpayers. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George testified. In his opening statement, Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) noted that “[t]his hearing is of utmost importance as we work to find out what individuals and organizations were behind this breach; discover how this breach occurred, and what steps the IRS might have taken to prevent it; find out what taxpayer information was compromised, and how this may affect both taxpayers and tax administration going forward; and determine what tools and resources are necessary to better protect taxpayers, catch cybercriminals, and prevent this type of breach from being successful in the future. Most of all, we must pledge to work together to make sure that this type of breach does not happen again.”