As lawmakers work to reduce the federal budget deficit, many
seek to overhaul the tax code as a way to boost economic growth and
ultimately increase federal revenues. Comprehensive reform of the
Internal Revenue Code has not occurred since 1986, and lawmakers
have endeavored to address tax reform during the past decade
without success. In policy circles in Washington, D.C., tax reform
perpetually seems to be just over the horizon yet always out of
reach.
However, the current budget environment has breathed new life
into previously inconceivable policy initiatives, including tax
re-form. Although a task as massive as rewriting the tax code is
unlikely to occur as part of the immediate budget discussions, the
groundwork could be set for a tax overhaul that likely will have
significant implications for businesses in the roofing
industry.
There is bipartisan agreement on the need for tax reform for
several reasons. There is broad agreement that the tax code is far
too complex, increasingly burdensome and costly, which causes
compliance problems for individuals and small businesses. Also, the
temporary nature of much of the tax code renders many tax
incentives ineffective. It is difficult, for example, for a
business to plan capital investments when the maximum Section 179
small-business expensing amount changes...
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