February March 2018

16 colorad o nga.org LooseLeaf February/March 2018 FEDERAL OUTLOOK ANewTax Bill Under the Christmas Tree— What Next? Happy New Year! After more than a little drama and suspense, the GOP-controlled Congress made good on its pledge to pass sweeping tax legislation, sending a final bill to President Trump for signature as Christmas approached. Don’t get your hopes up about filing taxes on a postcard. And don’t fire your expert accountant or advisor just yet, either. For most, it’s complicated and the details will matter. And some gains are only temporary. A few things of note: • Cash accounting appears to be protected and expanded. While the coming rulemaking process will demand close scrutiny, the special rules that apply to nursery growers appear to remain in place. Also, businesses (small corporations and partnerships with a corporate partner) that previously had revenue thresholds on the ability to use cash accounting had the threshold increased from $5 million to $25 million; • The Estate Tax was not repealed in the final bill but exemption levels were doubled, to $22 million for a married couple; • The bill allows full and immediate expensing of short-lived capital investments for the first five years. Some of the pros and cons of the final version of the tax reform bill are highlighted in“Congressional Tax Bill: Benefits and Concerns for Ag” (available at kcoe.com/congressional-tax-bill-benefits-and-concerns- for-ag ), a mid-December press release issued by our tax policy partner, agricultural tax firm K-Coe Isom. What’s next on the tax front? The new tax law is complicated, and topline summaries won’t do it justice. The bill could lead to hundreds of pages of new or revised IRS regulations. The IRS will have to work quickly as some of the changes begin almost immediately. Funding the Government The last official act of Congress before leaving town was to pass a short-term spending fix that funds the government until January 19. Funding the government through September will be an urgent order of business. By Craig Regelbrugge Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Research, AmericanHort