The term “immediate” is of course relative. Apparently, it means something quite different to the American Institute of CPAs and the federal Internal Revenue Service, respectively.
The AICPA urgently sought immediate guidance from the IRS back in February concerning seminal tax-reform legislation that confers material benefits on potentially millions of American business owners.
It is still waiting for some answers.
The subject matter: so-called “pass-through” provisions passed by Congress last year that call for an attractive 20-percent tax deduction on overall taxable income for select enterprises in New York and nationally.
We noted those businesses and the beneficial scheme in a June 1 blog entry at R3M Law. We stressed therein that “caveats and a few curve balls” link closely with the new law and that “smoke surrounding the legislation” might reasonably prompt many business owners to confer with established legal counsel to discuss specifics.
Recent news reports, including an in-depth profile from Bloomberg, indicate that the above-cited proverbial smoke has not yet cleared. There are still questions about exactly which businesses will qualify for the deduction and when companies can begin to do their relevant accounting work with confidence. Reportedly, the U.S. Treasury Department and a key White House office tasked with oversight duties still aren’t on the same page concerning progress and clarifying details.
Impatience is building for legions of company owners, and with some obvious justification, given the high-profile fanfare and materially sizable benefits available for eligible business claimants.
One estimate on when final rules regarding pass-through specifics will be proposed by Treasury now posits and end-of-July date. The regulations are subject to final review following that by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
