ABC backs Tax Reform 2.0, urges expansion for industry-recognized apprenticeships

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Washington, sent a letter to the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Sept. 13 to voice support for Tax Reform 2.0 legislation, which would build on the successes of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) by providing permanency to the nation’s tax code and certainty for ABC member companies and their employees. The committee passed the bill on a party-line vote of 21-15, and it is expected to receive a vote on the House floor later this month. 

“While the TCJA’s permanent 21 percent corporate tax rate provides certainty to our C corporations, a clear majority of construction companies rely on the temporary 20 percent deduction for qualified pass-through income to lower their tax rates,” Kristen Swearingen, vice president of legislative & political affairs, ABC wrote. “Along with the doubling of the estate tax exemption to $11 million, reductions to individual tax rates and changes to various accounting methods, these provisions are not permanent and will eventually result in a considerable tax hike for our members when they expire. Tax Reform 2.0 provides much needed certainty and parity for our pass-through businesses by making these provisions of the tax law permanent.”  

ABC also applauded the committee’s efforts to expand 529 plans in the package. However, it urged the committee to include payments for apprenticeship programs to industry-recognized apprenticeships as well as those registered with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

“Currently, the overwhelming majority of 7.8 million U.S. construction professionals are developed through industry-recognized apprenticeships, rather than those registered with DOL,” Swearingen wrote. “In the construction industry, there are approximately 500,000 unfilled positions. America needs an all-hands-on-deck effort from all industries, including construction, to take advantage of the booming economy and close the skills gap.” 

The Tax Reform 2.0 package also contains important provisions to simplify and improve retirement benefits and promote savings for hard-working American families that are supported by ABC.