ey-global-tax-policy-outlook-for-2015

United States
• Congress may take a renewed interest in paring down the
Focus may also turn to addressing impending solvency issues
funds, which may change how much social insurance tax
employers and employees pay in the future.
• Tax refund fraud involving false Forms W-2 has caused some
Congress may push for fraud prevention measures at the
federal level.
VAT, GST and sales taxes
• Many states have been actively considering tax changes
and reform, but the type of reform varies greatly by state.
In 2015, states will likely continue to look to decrease both
their corporate and individual income tax rates, as well as
state-level taxes on wages and employment.
• To pay for these reductions, states have increasingly been
expanding their sales and use tax rates, as well as their sales
tax bases, to include various services that had not previously
been subject to sales tax. Notably, there is a growing
movement among the states to extend their sales taxes to
remote Internet sales (despite US Supreme Court rulings
requiring a taxpayer’s physical presence to require collection
of such taxes). A group of retailers and other businesses is
working with Congress on legislation to grant state and local
governments the authority to collect sales taxes on remote
transactions. Lawmakers will continue to work on such
legislation when the next Congress convenes in January.
•
income-based taxes to consumption-based taxes is likely to
continue.
2.5 Fiscal stimulus in 2015
2.6 Political landscape
• The Republican party regained control of the Senate in the
November 2014 midterm elections, but its majority is short
short of the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber
to overrule a presidential veto. Therefore, bipartisan
legislation, including tax reform.
•
cuts tied to raising the US debt limit and possible Republican
attempts to use the so-called “budget reconciliation” process
to attempt to repeal the ACA or push tax reform forward.
• 2015 could also see greater bipartisan negotiation, with
Republicans focusing on their priorities (such as reducing
government regulation and enacting energy measures) and
on issues, such as international trade agreements and
business tax reform.
• Republican control of Congress has reinvigorated the tax
reform debate, although this does not necessarily mean tax
reform will be enacted in the short term.
• The many moving parts contribute to a complex political
dynamic; while Republicans have generally supported
has increasingly focused on business-only tax reform and
proposals intended to provide relief or pay for changes to
bolster the middle class.
2.7 Current tax policy and tax administration
leaders
Tax policy leaders
•
• Jack Lew, Treasury Secretary
• Mark Mazur, Treasury Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy)
• Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Chairman, House Ways and Means
Committee
•
Means Committee
194 | The outlook for global tax policy in 2015