Fall 2017

www.wvfa.org Fall 2017 |  West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry 7 Federal Tax Reform SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady have released a statement announcing a coordinated effort among the House, Senate, and the Administration to move comprehensive tax reform legislation this fall. We have been hearing that a so-called “unified plan” would be unveiled sometime after the August Congressional recess and this formal statement set the marker for those plans. The primary driver behind tax reform efforts is the current corporate tax rate, which is the highest among nations with which the U.S. trades and competes.  Op-Ed on Federal Estate Tax PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTER (PERC—a free- market, property-rights think tank) Policy Fellow, Brian Seasholes wrote: “Given that estate tax repeal is part of the Trump tax proposal, there is going to be interest in the issue, and I am in the process of writing an op-ed about how the tax is bad for environmental conservation (by causing land to be subdivided and sold). Do you know of any landowners for whom estate tax is an issue (and would be willing to talk with me and have their situation be mentioned in an op-ed)?” If you are willing to talk to Brian, please send your phone number and email address to WVFA with reference to this article. For a sample of Brian’s work, please read: http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/14/government- regulation-a-growing-threat-to-the-environment/ 