House Ways and Means Committee approves reconciliation tax bill - key business provisions

In brief

The House Ways and Means Committee on September 15 approved tax increase and tax relief proposals that are to be acted on by the House of Representatives as part of ‘Build Back Better’ reconciliation legislation (the bill). The legislation was approved by a largely party-line vote of 24 to 19; Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) was the only member to cross party lines by casting a vote opposing the bill along with all Ways and Means Republicans. House and Senate tax proposals are being considered under a fiscal year 2022 budget resolution that provides reconciliation instructions for a package that currently adds up to about $3.5 trillion of spending and tax relief provisions, offset in part by corporate and individual tax increases. 

Outlined below is a high-level overview of some of the key business provisions contained in the Ways and Means Committee-approved legislation. For a separate PwC Insight that discusses key individual tax provisions in the bill, click here. More detailed Insights on certain individual and business provisions will be issued later.

Differences between the House tax proposals and forthcoming Senate tax proposals that are expected to be considered in coming weeks will have to be resolved before final legislation can be put to a vote in each chamber. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and other Finance Committee Democrats have recently released a series of discussion drafts on business, international, and individual tax proposals. Congressional Democratic leaders are seeking to complete action on the legislation so it can be signed into law by President Biden before the end of this year.

Observation: Reconciliation legislation can be approved with only Democratic votes over the expected objections of Congressional Republicans, but moderate Democrats in both the House and Senate have indicated that they will not support a package with a price tag of $3.5 trillion over 10 years. While the cost of any final package remains uncertain, the Ways and Means Committee-approved bill features significant business and individual tax increases. Moderate House and Senate Democrats are expected to insist on scaling back the scope of both the spending proposals and certain tax increase proposals. 

Action item: Multinational and domestic companies should model these new provisions to understand the potential tax implications and should consult with advisors on which provisions are most likely to be enacted as part of final legislation. Most of the business tax reform provisions are proposed to be effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2021. Businesses also should consider the potential effects of global tax policy proposals being developed by the OECD. On Tuesday, September 21, PwC will host a webcast on which we will cover some of the key provisions in the reconciliation legislation. Please register in order to participate.