Accounting
How Trump and Congress may pay for TCJA extension
Financial advisors and their clients know that the expiring parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will likely remain in place, but they could be waiting until the end of the year on the details.
Regardless of their views of eight key policy questions outlined in the slideshow below and on President Donald Trump and his Republican party’s control of Congress and the White House, planners and other tax and wealth management professionals face the need to get ready for new potential rules. That’s why it’s important to look past the daily headlines emanating from Capitol Hill to the big themes.
Currently, the House and the Senate are tying each other up
President Trump has expressed more support for the House’s plan to pass “one big, beautiful bill” covering taxes and immigration, but the Senate is lining up behind two pieces of legislation — which Trump has described
“I understand his perspective, which is, ‘I will weigh in on the policy, but that’s their ballfield. I’m not going to play on their turf,'” Traub said, noting the delays among Republicans seeking to find common ground on the budget resolution. “The longer that goes on, in my mind it ends up backing you into a two-bill strategy. At some point, if they’re working on parallel tracks that never meet, the president’s going to be frustrated by the lack of action.”
The tax policy dilemma that is converging on Trump and his party revolves around thorny math and politics that don’t pose many easy answers. The legislation will expand the deficit by several trillions of dollars and add to the country’s debt — even if its supporters wish to think that tariffs or corresponding economic gains will wipe away the cost completely. Simultaneously, other ideas such as cutting out tens of billions of dollars worth
As a former “keeper of the offset list” with the Senate Finance Committee, Burke Baker pointed out that this process is a very difficult one for any party on a major bill.
“Some offset is going to affect somebody, and that makes it extremely challenging to come up with acceptable offsets that have any money attached to them that they can use to help pay for this bill,” she said.
It’s no wonder that
“It will really involve all Republican lawmakers just following neatly in line with President Trump,” said Joe Hughes, a
“No matter how you slice it up, it will be a very costly bill and have enormous impact on the federal deficit and debt,” he added.
Even as some in Congress show that they’re willing to pretend that extending the Trump tax law
“It all depends on what sort of will and political pressure there is to pass these tax cuts,” he said. “If there’s a will to do that, they’re going to find a way.”
Scroll down the slideshow below for eight key tax policy issues for financial advisors and tax professionals to consider in the extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. To read the other part of Financial Planning’s tax-season feature on the math and politics shaping clients’ plans for next year, see “
Aprio, a Top 25 Firm based in Atlanta, has acquired JMS Advisory Group, a firm that specializes in unclaimed property compliance and escheat process development, also based in Atlanta
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Aprio ranked No. 24 on Accounting Today’s just released
JMS was founded in 2006 and helps clients mitigate risk and capitalize on opportunities through managed unclaimed property compliance. The team includes attorneys, CPAs, CFEs and others.
JMS has a wide range of clients, including enterprise companies, financial institutions, credit unions, insurance companies, hospitality and health care organizations.
“As Aprio continues its rapid growth, we are committed to expanding our services to meet the evolving needs of our clients,” said Aprio CEO Richard Kopelman in a statement Tuesday. “The addition of JMS gives us the opportunity to continue strengthening our position as a future-focused advisory firm. JMS’s focus on escheat management and asset recovery not only enhances our current capabilities but also allows us to deliver even more impactful solutions to help businesses navigate complex compliance challenges.”
JMS president and CEO James Santivanez is joining Aprio as a partner and provides guidance to clients on unclaimed property and state and local tax issues.
“We created JMS to make an impact nationally in the unclaimed property consulting industry, and I’m proud of our nearly 20-year history of helping clients mitigate risk and capitalize on opportunities resulting from accurate and properly managed unclaimed property compliance,” Santivanez said in a statement. “Joining with Aprio takes us to the next level, allowing us to build upon our success while providing even greater value to our clients. This is an exciting next step in our journey.”
JMS founder and director Sherridan Santivanez is also joining Aprio as a partner. He specializes in representing clients before state enforcement authorities and managing complex audits and voluntary disclosures for some of the world’s largest companies. She provides strategic guidance on audit preparation and navigates interactions with state and third-party auditors.
Aprio received a
The American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy are asking for comments on their proposal for an additional pathway to CPA licensure through
The AICPA and NASBA proposed the
The UAA changes would:
- Enable states to adopt a third licensure pathway that requires earning a baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration, completing two years of professional experience as defined by Board rule, and passing the Uniform CPA Examination;
- Shift to an “individual-based” mobility model, which allows CPAs to practice in other states with just one license; and
- Add safe harbor language to ensure CPAs who meet existing licensure requirements preserve practice privileges.
The proposals come as several states are already moving forward with their own changes, including
The updates reflect feedback gathered during a late 2024 exposure draft period and forward-looking solutions being advanced by state CPA societies and boards of accountancy to increase flexibility for licensure candidates while maintaining the integrity of the CPA license.
The AICPA and NASBA are asking for comments on the proposed changes by May 3, 2025. They can be submitted through this
The UAA offers state legislatures and boards of accountancy a national model they can adopt in full or in part to meet the licensure needs of each jurisdiction.
The proposal would maintain the current two pathways to CPA licensure:
- Earning a post baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration, completing one year of professional experience as defined by Board rule, and passing the CPA exam; and,
- Earning a baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration, plus an additional 30 semester credit hours , completing one year of professional experience as defined by Board rule, and passing the CPA exam.
Small business employment held steady last month, according to payroll company Paychex, while wage growth continued below 3%
The
“Our employment data continues to show moderate job growth and wage growth below three percent,” said Paychex president and CEO John Gibson in a statement Tuesday. “The consistent long-term trend we’re seeing is a small business labor market that is resilient and stable with little job movement among workers. At the same time, small business owners are optimistic about future business conditions despite uncertainty about how to adapt to a rapidly evolving legislative and regulatory landscape.”
The Midwest remained the top region in the country for the ninth consecutive month with a jobs index level of 100.54. Seven of the 20 states analyzed gained more than one percentage point in February, led by Texas (up 2.11 percentage points).
Phoenix (101.92) increased its rate of small business job growth for the fourth month in a row in February to rank first among the largest U.S. metros.
Construction (3.29%) regained its top spot among industries in terms of hourly earnings growth in February, followed closely by “other services” (3.27%) and manufacturing (3.21%).
The pace of job growth in manufacturing gained 2.39 percentage points to 99.52 in February, the industry’s biggest one-month increase since April 2021.
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