Schumer May Have To Move This Week To Salvage Bipartisan Tax Bill

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) may have to schedule a cloture vote on the USD$78 billion bipartisan tax bill this week or risk the legislation stalling permanently in the Senate Finance Committee.

• The legislation, which extends child tax credits in return for some business tax deductions, is currently delayed in committee after negotiations between Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and ranking Republican Mike Crapo (R-ID) last week failed to reach a compromise which would avoid a re-write of the bill.
• Politico notes: "This might be the only chance remaining to stop fraud in the pandemic-era Employee Retention Credit - something Wyden and House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) relied on to pay for almost all of their $78 billion bill... The IRS continues to process ERC claims, essentially meaning that it’s now or never when it comes to trying to weed out fraudulent applications."
• Schumer, who supports the bill, could effectively end the Senate Finance Committee’s role in shaping the bill by finding 60 votes and invoking cloture to overcome a filibuster. There are several GOP Senators who are on the record in favour of the bill so there is a good chance Schumer could successfully navigate a bipartisan vote, should he decide to pursue this strategy.