Engineering Inc - January/February 2018 - 15

TAX REFORM
EFFORT NEARS
CONCLUSION

WHAT'S NEXT

Tax Reform

Finished by the end of 2017

Infrastructure Agenda

White House plan expected in
early 2018

CA Funding Initiative

Coalition effort to defend the
funding package will continue
through the year

as the ability of engineering
firms to use the cash method
of accounting.
For passthrough businesses-S corporations, partnerships and LLCs-the final
bill creates a new 20 percent
tax deduction. An earlier version initially excluded most
passthrough owners in certain
professions from qualifying for
the new deduction, including
lawyers, doctors, accountants,
financiers, entertainers, professional athletes as well as architects and engineers.
In response to concerns
raised by ACEC, the bill was
modified to allow engineering
passthrough owners to
access the deduction. Like
most industries, engineering

THISISDAVID88 / THINKSTOCK

A

CEC worked
successfully
with House and
Senate leaders to improve
the treatment of engineering
passthrough firms in the tax
bill-a vote was expected in
late December.
The House and Senate
passed different versions of tax
reform, and the final bill follows the basic contours of the
Senate bill in several respects.
It lowers the corporate tax
rate from 35 percent to 21
percent, which will help engineering firms organized as C
corps. The bill also preserves
tax incentives for retirement
and employee ownership programs, such as ESOPs, as well

ISSUES ON THE MOVE

passthrough owners with
incomes below $315,000
for joint filers and $157,500
for individuals can claim the
full deduction. Owners with
higher incomes will be subject
to rules similar to those in the
Section 199 deduction that
many A/E firms claim.
"We made a great deal
of progress, despite the
complexities of the proposed
changes in the tax code and
the rapid pace in getting the
bill done before the end of the
year," said ACEC President
and CEO Dave Raymond.
"We appreciate the fact that
Congress listened to our
arguments and agreed to
put engineering firms on a
level footing."

DOE Secretary Perry Receives ACEC
Recommendations to Streamline Permitting,
Improve Cybersecurity Regulations

E

For
More
News
DREW ANGERER / STAFF / GETTYIMAGES

nergy Secretary Rick Perry asked ACEC
President and CEO Dave Raymond and
other association CEOs for recommendations on improving the DOE regulatory process.
ACEC sent three key recommendations to
Perry:
1. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
reviews should be limited to two years.
2. In Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) hydroelectric and natural gas
infrastructure permitting processes, federal
agencies with jurisdiction should undertake
concurrent reviews and be held accountable
for meeting deadlines.
3. Department of Energy groups working on
supply chain cybersecurity technology,
standards and guidance should include
representatives of the engineering industry
in order to avoid regulatory confusion and
inefficiencies.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry

For weekly
legislative
news, visit
ACEC's Last
Word online
at www.
acec.org.

Regulatory reforms in the energy marketplace
will likely be included in a larger infrastructure
initiative from the White House in early 2018.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2018

ENGINEERING INC.

15
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc - January/February 2018
