S2E5: Sloan Speck - Are You Election Ready? Talking Taxes and Midterms

Are you election ready? This episode, Sloan Speck joins us to talk about tax law and the many policies that Congress will have to deal with after the 2022 midterm elections.

Today on the podcast, Sloan breaks down a bunch of legislation scheduled to sunset between now and 2025, the possible priorities of a Democratic- or Republican-held Congress, and who you should trust most when it comes to legal tax advice.

Sloan Speck is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Boulder. He specializes in taxation and tax policy.

EPISODE QUOTES:

On the challenges Congress faces this election season…

[00:06:24] “There are a lot of moving pieces right now in terms of tax policy under this Congress and this president, and then the next Congress and this president. And that dynamic is gonna be really, really tough for all of these parties to work through, even if Democrats retain control.”

[00:06:49] “So first is the fact that there is not a budget for next year. And there could be continuing tax work that will occur during this Congress or maybe be kicked down the road to the next Congress… 

[00:07:07] Second, working out stuff from the Inflation Reduction Act. And that's going to be a process that's going to take time… 

[00:07:23] Finally, there are all of these provisions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted in December of 2017… 

[00:07:31] These are going to change incentives for businesses to make investments. And those incentives may be critical at a time of significant economic uncertainty.”

On what this means for businesses…

[00:12:30] “There are just a ton of sunsets that happen from 2022 on through 2026, and these changes are going to cause a lot of dislocation for different businesses. They're using these tax benefits, or subject to these tax detriments, as they shift over time.”

On how to prepare for tax uncertainty… 

[00:18:16] “Really the person to talk to is your tax advisor and to really hammer out which these provisions apply to you, and what the changes might be, and what that might mean for your business and for your personal life.”

[00:23:10] “One thing about the uncertainty related to tax law, is that it's a constant challenge to the way people do things. And it's an opportunity to rethink those prior practices and those prior pathways and really come up with something that's unique and focused on the business goals that you have in mind – and that is flexible enough to accommodate some of the choices that Congress may or may not make in the next, six months, or three years, or four years…

[00:23:40] There's also an opportunity for taxpayers, and for businesses, to really address how they do things in an environment where it's important to be flexible and responsive to changes in law.”

SHOW LINKS: 

Guest’s Profile:

Sloan Speck Profile at Leeds School of Business