House Ways And Means Chair Expected To Introduce Tax Reform Proposal

U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (R-MI) and U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) are expected to take different approaches to tax reform this year. Camp has stated publicly his intent to focus solely on comprehensive tax reform, which he and his staff have been working on for over a year. He is expected to release a discussion draft of comprehensive tax reform legislation in the coming months.

Meanwhile, newly designated Chair Wyden has publicly expressed support for the idea of comprehensive tax reform, but is expected to focus his near term efforts on passing legislation retroactively to extend several renewable energy incentives that expired at the end of 2013. These incentives include tax credits for the production of biofuels, including cellulosic and biodiesel. Senate Finance Committee Members Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have recently introduced legislation to extend the expired $1 per gallon biodiesel incentive, which could be included in a more comprehensive tax extender package.

Given this election year, as well as the divergent approaches of the two Chairmen of the tax writing committees, it will likely be difficult to get comprehensive tax reform legislation and possibly even a tax extender package passed in 2014.