NTSP2101A. Bipartisan Tax Policy in a Partisan Era: What Recent Legislation Means for Future Tax Policy

Over the past five years, major tax law changes seem to be one of the natural consequences of single-party control in Washington. Although a unified government is common at the beginning of a new president’s term, single-party control also tends to end with the first midterm election. What do condensed periods of unified government mean for tax policy as well as the stability and simplicity of the tax code? Where do areas of bipartisan consensus exist on tax policy and how might bipartisan proposals advance under future single-party rule? Which tax proposals are more likely to advance in divided government?

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how “the weaponization of procedure” contributes to volatile tax policy.
• Briefly review select and recent tax law changes with important profession-level impacts.
• Understand where areas of tax policy consensus exist for purposes of future bipartisan tax efforts.