Mossack Fonseca on Powerful US Congressman Proposes Massive Tax Overhaul

House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R - Texas) has disclosed that, under his leadership, the Committee will immediately draft US international tax reform legislation, while laying the framework for more comprehensive tax reform in 2017.

On February 12, 2016, Mr. Brady delivered the keynote address at the Tax Council Policy Institute's 17th Annual Tax Policy & Practice Symposium, and confirmed that, "in the months ahead and beyond, the Ways and Means Committee will be the center of the tax reform discussion and debate. … The code we have is too costly, complex and unfair. It is abundantly clear that now is the time to overhaul our tax system from top to bottom".

Chairman Brady's proposed changes include:

• Making the tax code simpler, fairer, and flatter

• Replacing the current world-wide tax system with a permanent, modern territorial-type system

• Closing loopholes, eliminating special rules and limiting deductions, exclusions and credits

• Providing businesses both large and small with a competitive tax system, including a fair and competitive tax rate

• Encouraging businesses to locate their operations in the United States rather than incentivizing (effectively) the shift of jobs overseas

Mr. Brady confirmed that the Committee will move forward immediately to draft international tax reform legislation - "as we plan for that finish line in 2017, developments in the global environment demand our immediate attention."