WASHINGTON: Republicans in the US House of Representatives will delay the release of long-awaited tax legislation by one day until Thursday, the head of the chamber’s tax-writing panel said late on Tuesday.
“In consultation with President Trump and our leadership team, we have decided to release the bill text on Thursday,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady said in a statement.
“We are pleased with the progress we are making and we remain on schedule to take action and approve a bill at our Committee beginning next week,” the Republican lawmaker added.
In a tweet on Tuesday night before Brady’s statement, President Donald Trump said: “The Republican House members are working hard (and late) toward the Massive Tax Cuts that they know you deserve. These will be biggest ever!“
Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, are looking to tax reform for their first legislative victory since Trump took office in January. Democrats say the Trump tax plan is a giveaway to corporations and the rich.
Two sources with knowledge of the discussions said earlier on Tuesday that the bill, which had been expected on Wednesday, would emerge a day later to give lawmakers additional time to address differences over the tax treatment of retirement savings accounts and a deduction for state and local tax payments.
Trump and other top Republicans have proposed a plan that would cut taxes for corporations, small businesses and individuals by up to $6 trillion over a decade and pay for the reductions in part by eliminating trillions of dollars in deductions and other tax breaks that are often fiercely defended.
The US tax code has not undergone a major overhaul since 1986, when Republican Ronald Reagan was president.
Earlier on Tuesday, House Republicans appeared to be nearing a deal on state and local taxes that would preserve a federal deduction for property taxes but not income taxes, potentially removing a major obstacle.
Republican Representative Tom Reed of New York said the “sweet spot” compromise was gaining support among high-tax state lawmakers who have signaled their opposition to a proposal to repeal the state and local tax, or SALT, deduction.
Another New York Republican saw things differently.
“I’m still inclined to be opposed to it. The income tax is a major factor,” said Representative Peter King.
“This is going to affect our country for the next 20 years, for good or bad. I think the last time we did tax reform, there was like two years of debate. We’re going to have 10 days,” he said.
The SALT compromise would reduce, but not eliminate, a disproportional tax impact on upper middle-class families in high-income tax states such as New York, New Jersey and California. Those states send enough Republicans to Congress to derail a tax bill.
The House bill is expected to cut the top corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent and phase out the estate tax paid by the wealthiest taxpayers over two or three years. It may also set a repatriation rate for US businesses with profits overseas, according to a source familiar with a Tuesday meeting between House Speaker Paul Ryan and conservative groups.
It is also likely to set a 15 percent minimum tax on active foreign income of US corporations, according to lobbyists with knowledge of negotiations.
As the Trump administration escalated its pro-tax plan campaign, Vice President Mike Pence met with Republicans on Tuesday, while Trump hosted industry leaders and then Ryan, at the White House.
Trump said at the White House he wanted Congress to pass tax reform bills by the US Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 23.
A proposal to limit how much money Americans can direct to their 401(k) retirement accounts and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) on a pre-tax basis is meeting resistance, including from fund managers who handle 54 million such accounts.
Republicans initially proposed capping tax-free 401(k) contributions at $2,400, down from $18,000 in 2017, but the figure is in flux.
“We are either going to strengthen the 401(k)’s and IRA’s so people can save more, or we will leave them as is,” Brady told reporters.
Senator Heidi Heitkamp, one of a few Democrats being courted by Republicans, said she could not support lowering the cap on tax-free retirement contributions. “I will not vote for that,” she told reporters.
Release of US House tax bill delayed until Thursday
Release of US House tax bill delayed until Thursday
AI will never replace human creativity, says SRMG CEO
- Speaking to Maya Hojeij, senior business anchor at Asharq with Bloomberg, Jomana R. Alrashid expressed pride in SRMG platforms that had absorbed and adopted AI
RIYADH: Jomana R. Alrashid, CEO of Saudi Research and Media Group, highlighted how AI cannot replace human creativity during a session at The Family Office’s “Investing Is a Sea” summit at Shura Island on Friday.
“You can never replace human creativity. Journalism at the end of the day, and content creation, is all about storytelling, and that’s a creative role that AI does not have the power to do just yet,” Alrashid told the investment summit.
“We will never eliminate that human role which comes in to actually tell that story, do the actual investigative reporting around it, make sure to be able to also tell you what’s news or what’s factual from what’s wrong ... what’s a misinformation from bias, and that’s the bigger role that the editorial player does in the newsroom.”
Speaking on the topic of AI, moderated by Maya Hojeij, senior business anchor at Asharq with Bloomberg, the CEO expressed her pride in SRMG platforms that had absorbed and adopted AI in a way that was “transformative.”
“We are now translating all of our content leveraging AI. We are also now being able to create documentaries leveraging AI. We now have AI-facilitated fact-checking, AI facilities clipping, transcribing. This is what we believe is the future.”
Alrashid was asked what the journalist of the future would look like. “He’s a journalist and an engineer. He’s someone who needs to understand data. And I think this is another topic that is extremely important, understanding the data that you’re working with,” she said.
“This is something that AI has facilitated as well. I must say that over the past 20 years in the region, especially when it comes to media companies, we did not understand the importance of data.”
The CEO highlighted that previously, media would rely on polling, surveys or viewership numbers, but now more detailed information about what viewers wanted was available.
During the fireside session, Alrashid was asked how the international community viewed the Middle Eastern media. Alrashid said that over the past decades it had played a critical role in informing wider audiences about issues that were extremely complex — politically, culturally and economically — and continued to play that role.
“Right now it has a bigger role to play, given the role again of social media, citizen journalists, content creators. But I also do believe that it has been facilitated by the power that AI has. Now immediately, you can ensure that that kind of content that is being created by credible, tier-A journalists, world-class journalists, can travel beyond its borders, can travel instantly to target different geographies, different people, different countries, in different languages, in different formats.”
She said that there was a big opportunity for Arab media not to be limited to simply Arab consumption, but to finally transcend borders and be available in different languages and to cater to their audiences.
The CEO expressed optimism about the future, emphasizing the importance of having a clear vision, a strong strategy, and full team alignment.
Traditional advertising models, once centered on television and print, were rapidly changing, with social media platforms now dominating advertising revenue.
“It’s drastically changing. Ultimately in the past, we used to compete with one another over viewership. But now we’re also competing with the likes of social media platforms; 80 percent of the advertising revenue in the Middle East goes to the social media platforms, but that means that there’s 80 percent interest opportunities.”
She said that the challenge was to create the right content on these platforms that engaged the target audiences and enabled commercial partnerships. “I don’t think this is a secret, but brands do not like to advertise with news channels. Ultimately, it’s always related with either conflict or war, which is a deterrent to advertisers.
“And that’s why we’ve entered new verticals such as sports. And that’s why we also double down on our lifestyle vertical. Ultimately, we have the largest market share when it comes to lifestyle ... And we’ve launched new platforms such as Billboard Arabia that gives us an entry into music.”
Alrashid said this was why the group was in a strong position to counter the decline in advertising revenues across different platforms, and by introducing new products.
“Another very important IP that we’ve created is events attached to the brands that have been operating in the region for 30-plus years. Any IP or any title right now that doesn’t have an event attached to it is missing out on a very big commercial opportunity that allows us to sit in a room, exchange ideas, talk to one another, get to know one another behind the screen.”
The CEO said that disruption was now constant and often self-driving, adding that the future of the industry was often in storytelling and the ability to innovate by creating persuasive content that connected directly with the audience.
“But the next disruption is going to continue to come from AI. And how quickly this tool and this very powerful technology evolves. And whether we are in a position to cope with it, adapt to it, and absorb it fully or not.”
