Overview
Treasury Announces One-Year Delay in Applying the 385 Regulations: The Treasury Department and the IRS issued Notice 2017-36, which would delay the documentation requirements of the Section 385 earnings-stripping regulations until 2019. Originally, the regulations (T.D. 9790) issued on April 6, 2016, would have been effective in 2018. The notice also requests comments about whether the proposed amendment and delay provide enough time for taxpayers to develop processes to comply with the documentation requirements. The regulations were identified by the Trump Administration as rules that could be rescinded or modified for placing an undue burden on business.
Senate Fails to Pass 'Skinny Repeal' Health Care Bill: Yesterday, the Senate voted 49-51 against the so-called “skinny repeal” bill. All of the Democratic Senators, as well as three Republican Senators, Susan Collins (R-ME), John McCain (R-AZ), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), voted against the bill. The bill included provisions to repeal the individual mandate, suspend the employer mandate for eight years, eliminate the medical device tax, provide greater flexibility to the states through waivers, and defund Planned Parenthood. With the failure of this legislation, it appears the immediate Congressional efforts to repeal Obamacare have ended.