Exempt Organizations Advisory - House Delays Vote on Ways and Means-Approved Tax Reconciliation Bill

On November 18, the Senate approved its $59.6 billion S. 2020 Tax Relief Act of 2005 by a vote of 64-33. As we previously reported, the bill contains a large number of charitable provisions, which are not included in the House version of the bill.

Also on November 18, House leaders announced that they would delay until the week of December 5 a floor vote on the $56 billion tax reconciliation bill (H.R. 4297), as approved by the House Ways and Means Committee on November 15. It is expected that the delay will make a House-Senate conference and final approval of the tax reconciliation legislation difficult to complete by the end of the year.

Several issues are expected to arise in conference, including AMT relief (included in Senate version), capital gains and dividends extensions (included in House version), and additional taxation of oil companies in the form of a LIFO accounting method limitation (included in the Senate version of the bill and the subject of a White House veto threat in a November 18 Statement of Administration Policy). The fate of the Senate’s charitable provisions in conference is uncertain.

Information regarding H.R. 4297 can be found here.

For more information on this topic, please contact Catherine W. Wilkinson or Suzanne Ross McDowell.

The Exempt Organization Advisory is a general summary of the law and is not intended as specific legal advice for any organization.

Internal Revenue Service - Circular 230 Disclosure: As provided for in Treasury regulations, advice (if any) relating to federal taxes that is contained in this communication (including attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any plan or arrangement addressed herein.

For more information on this topic, please contact the authors or the attorneys with whom you usually work at Steptoe.

Questions and comments about the Exempt Organizations Advisory are always welcome and should be sent to bstone@steptoe.com.