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The tax outlook for president-elect Trump and the GOP

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President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican party clarified one aspect of the uncertainty surrounding taxes with a resounding victory in the election.

That means that the many expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 — which Trump signed into law in his first term — are much more likely to remain in force after their potential sunset date at the end of next year. Financial advisors and tax professionals can act without worrying that the rules will shift underneath them to favor much higher income duties.  

However, the result also presents Trump and incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana with a series of thorny tax policy questions that have tricky, time-sensitive implications, according to Anna Taylor, the deputy leader, and Jonathan Traub, the leader, of Deloitte Tax’s Tax Policy Group. Once again, industry professionals and their clients will be learning the minutiae of House and Senate procedures. Taylor and Traub spoke on a panel last week, following Trump’s victory and their release of a report detailing the many tax policy questions facing the incoming administration.

READ MORE: Donald Trump will shape these 9 areas of wealth management 

Considering the fact that the objections of former Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee “slowed down that process for a number of weeks in 2017” before Republicans “landed” on a deficit increase of $1.5 trillion in the legislation, Taylor pointed out how the looming debate on the precise numbers and Senate budget reconciliation rules will affect the writing of any extensions bill.

“They’re going to have to pick their budget number on the front end,” Taylor said. “They’re going to have to pick that number and put it in the budget resolution, and then they’ll kind of back into their policy so that their policies will fit within their budget constraints. And once you get into that process, you can do a lot in the tax base, but there are still limits. I mean, you can’t do anything that affects the Social Security program. So they won’t be able to do the president’s proposal on getting rid of taxes on Social Security benefits.”

Individual House GOP members will exercise their strength in the negotiations as well, and the current limit on the deduction for state and local taxes represents a key bellwether on how the talks are proceeding, Traub noted. 

The president-elect and his Congressional allies will have to find the balance amid the “real tension” between members from New York and California and those from low-tax states such as Florida or Texas who will view any increases to the limit as “too much of a giveaway for the wealthy New Yorkers and Californians,” he said.   

“You will need almost perfect unity — more so in the House than the Senate,” Traub said. “This really gives a lot of power, I think, to any small group of House members who decide that they will lie down on the train tracks to block a bill they don’t like or to enforce the inclusion of a provision that they really want. I think the place we’ll watch the most closely at the get-go is over the SALT cap.”

READ MORE: Republican election sweep emboldens Trump’s tax cut dreams

Estimates of a price tag for extending the expiring provisions begin at $4.6 trillion — without even taking into account the cost of President-elect Trump’s campaign proposals to prohibit taxes on tips and overtime pay and deductions and credits for caregiving and buying American-made cars, Taylor pointed out. In addition, the current debt limit will run out on Jan. 1. 

The Treasury Department could “use their extraordinary measures to get them through a few more months before they actually have to deal with the limit,” she said. 

“But they’re going to have to make a decision,” Taylor continued. “Are they going to try to do the debt limit first, maybe roll it into some sort of appropriations deal early in the year? Or are they going to try to do the debt limit with taxes, and then that’s going to really force them to move really quickly on taxes? So, I don’t know. I don’t know that they have an answer to that yet. I’ll be really interested to see what they say in terms of how they’re going to move that limit, because they’re going to have to do that at some point — rather soon, too.”

Looking further into the future at the end of next year with the deadline on the expiring provisions, Republicans’ trifecta control of the White House and both houses of Congress makes them much more likely to exercise that mandate through a big tax bill rather than a temporary patch to give them a few more months to resolve differences, Traub said.

READ MORE: 26 tips on expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions to review before 2026 

Both parties have used reconciliation in the wake of the last two presidential elections. A continuing resolution-style patch on a temporary basis would have been more likely with divided government, he said.

“Had that been what the voters called for last Tuesday, I think that the odds of a short-term extension into 2025 would have been a lot higher,” Traub said. “I don’t think that anybody in the GOP majority right now is thinking about a short-term extension. They are thinking about, ‘We have an unusual ability now to use reconciliation to affect major policy changes.'”

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In the blogs: To be continued?

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TikTok and taxes; future of L.A. revenues; engagement limits; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

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Carr, Riggs & Ingram merges in CapinCrouse

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Carr, Riggs & Ingram, a Top 25 Firm based in Enterprise, Alabama, has added CapinCrouse, a Regional Leader based in Indianapolis, effective Jan. 17, 2025.

The deal is CRI’s biggest merger in its history, and the first since it received outside investment last November from Centerbridge Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. 

CapinCrouse focuses on exclusively serving nonprofits, such as faith-based  organizations and private colleges. The merger will add 40 partners, 185 professionals and 15 offices to CRI, which has 437 partners and 2,304 staff 

After the outside investment, CRI split its attest and non-attest practices, as is common when accounting firms receive private equity or venture capital funding. Carr, Riggs & Ingram, L.L.C., as an independent licensed CPA firm, is providing assurance, attest and audit services. CRI Advisors, LLC (including its subsidiary entities) operates as a separate legal entity, providing clients with tax and business consulting services.  

“This merger represents an exciting milestone in our firm’s history and a significant  advancement for both CRI and CapinCrouse,” said CRI Advisors LLC chairman Bill Carr in a statement Tuesday. “We have previously invested in firms that specialize in serving faith-based  organizations and private colleges. With the addition of CapinCrouse, CRI is now  positioned to become the leading national provider in these vital markets. By combining  our strengths, we will enhance the value we offer and greatly expand our national  geographical presence. We are proud to welcome CapinCrouse to the CRI family.” 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. CRI ranked No. 24 on Accounting Today‘s 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $455.36 million in annual revenue. CapinCrouse ranked No. 27 on Accounting Today‘s Regional Leaders list of the Top Firms in the Great Lakes region, with $35.51 million in annual revenue.

“We are very pleased to join CRI,” said Fran Brown, Managing Partner of CapinCrouse. “For  over 50 years, our focus has been on providing innovative service to nonprofit  organizations whose outcomes are measured in lives changed. CRI’s commitment to client service, respect, and integrity is an excellent fit with our mission and firm culture. We will  continue to operate under the CapinCrouse brand and are excited to now have access to  more offerings and resources to further drive exceptional client service.” 

Koltin Consulting Group CEO Allan Koltin advised both firms on the merger. “It is interesting to note that this is CRI’s biggest M&A deal in its history, and it comes on the heels of their private equity deal with Centerbridge Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners,” he said in a statement. “CapinCrouse, a top 125 firm nationally, is viewed by many as the preeminent firm in the country when it comes to the audit and related advisory  services of nonprofits and religious organizations. My intuition suggests that going forward, we will see CRI expanding its geographic reach nationally by combining with more top 200 firms.” 

Last August, CRI added ProSport CPA, a firm in New Kent County, Virginia, offering tax and accounting services within the sports and entertainment niche. In 2023, CRI expanded into Oklahoma by adding Stanfield + O’Dell PC, a firm in Tulsa. CRI expanded to South Carolina in 2022 by adding Lanning Group LLC, a firm based in Mount Pleasant in the Charleston suburbs, and expanded in Florida by adding Alonso & Garcia, a firm in Miami. It expanded that year in Florida by adding Travani & Richter in Jupiter, and in Texas by adding Pharr Bounds LLP in Austin.

In 2022, CapinCrouse acquired the Global Center for Nonprofit Excellence.

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Trump names Mark Uyeda acting chair of SEC

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SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda, speaking at the AICPA & CIMA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments

President Donald Trump named Mark Uyeda, a Republican member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as acting chairman of the SEC, while confirmation hearings await for Trump’s official pick as chairman, Paul Atkins.

Uyeda has been an SEC commissioner since 2022 and a member of the staff since 2006. Last month, he discussed at an AICPA & CIMA conference in Washington how the SEC is likely to pursue a more deregulatory approach during the Trump administration. The previous SEC chair, Gary Gensler, has pursued an active approach to enforcement and rulemaking, provoking opposition and a wave of lawsuits from the financial industry. A few weeks after the election, Gensler announced plans to step down on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day. 

“I am honored to serve in this capacity after serving as a Commissioner since 2022, and a member of the staff since 2006,” Uyeda said in a statement Monday. “I have great respect for the knowledge, expertise and experience of the agency and its people. The SEC has a vital mission—protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation—that plays a key role in promoting innovation, jobs creation, and the American Dream.”

Last month, Trump named Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner, as a replacement for Gensler. Atkins has been a proponent of cryptocurrency, while Gensler had imposed steep penalties on companies in the crypto industry. Confirmation hearings have not yet begun for Atkinds, but he has been meeting with lawmakers privately and is expected to be confirmed.

As acting chairman, Uyeda announced Monday that he would be launching a crypto task force dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets. The task force will be led by another Republican commissioner, Hester Peirce. 

The task force plans to collaborate with SEC staff and the public to set the SEC on a regulatory path as opposed to pursuing enforcement actions to regulate crypto “retroactively and reactively,” according to a news release.

“This undertaking will take time, patience and much hard work,” Peirce said in a statement. “It will succeed only if the Task Force has input from a wide range of investors, industry participants, academics and other interested parties. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with the public to foster a regulatory environment that protects investors, facilitates capital formation, fosters market integrity, and supports innovation.”

The task force plans to hold roundtables in the future, but in the meantime is asking for public input at [email protected].  

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