The House of Representatives passed a bill that would extend tax breaks for biodiesel and correct errors in the GOP tax overhaul, but the legislation is unlikely to be considered in the Senate before year end.
The Republican-controlled Senate has shown little interest in taking up the House’s package before members leave for the recess, even after the outgoing chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Kevin Brady, revised the package and included certain tax extenders to appease more moderate Senate GOP lawmakers. Brady had hoped that some of his tax package could be included in a year-end spending bill, but debate about border wall funding overshadowed smaller priorities.
The legislation passed the House 220-183. It bill would address errors in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including a mistake that increases the cost of renovations for retailers and language that denies refunds to corporations that overpaid repatriation taxes The status of expiring tax breaks, such as for biodiesel, renewable energy and mortgage insurance premiums, could be addressed next year.
The legislation would add about $99.2 billion to the deficit over a decade, according to the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation – though again, it is unlikely to be taken up by the Senate.
Several tax extenders expired in 2017, so Congress would need to retroactively renew the provisions through 2018 before the tax filing season is underway. As lawmakers continue to near a funding deadline that would shut down about 25 percent of the government, the tax measures are all-but-certain to be left out of a deal this year.
