Dear Clients and Friends of the Firm: As you may be aware, the House Republicans, via the Ways and Means Committee, recently released its proposal for tax reform titled the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.’ Yesterday afternoon, the Senate released the initial details of its version of this tax bill as well. If either passes in its current form, this would likely have the effect of increasing taxes on many high net worth individuals, beginning as early as 2018. It is important to note, however, that any tax legislation has several hurdles to pass before becoming law, including approval by all relevant committees, full votes in both the House and Senate, a conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate bills, and then the President’s signature. Thus, the final tax bill that is presented to the President is likely to look different from the current House and Senate proposals. Therefore, we recommend that you continue with your current tax planning strategies until we receive more clarity out of Washington. We have highlighted below some key information from the final House bill that has exited the committee stage, and we will communicate an update once the final Senate legislation exits committee in the next week.
Chilton Trust Company