Senate Tax Draft Sets Up A Big Fight

The Senate Finance Committee’s Draft Tax Portion of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) differs from the House Version in Big Ways and Suggests a Prolonged Fight is Ahead

This afternoon, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee released the tax portion of the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – OBBA – otherwise known as the  Reconciliation bill. 

We are still reviewing the draft (it is more than 500 pages long), but our initial read of the draft shows it diverges significantly from the House version on several important and contentious points, including: 

• Delaying until 2027 implementation of Section 899, softening the House’s version of the provision by raising the rate by 5 percent a year until it hits a 15% cap (the House version goes immediately to 20%).

• Lowering the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap to $10,000, down from the House version which set the deduction at $40,000.

• Cutting Medicaid more aggressively than the House does (something President Trump had warned against doing).

• Softening and slowing the House phase-out of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) solar energy tax credits.

We are including a link to the Finance Committee’s “Landing Page,” which has links to all sorts of other data including an interactive map which breaks down how their draft impacts each staff:

• The US Senate Finance Committee’s 2025 Tax Reform Landing Page: https://www.finance.senate.gov/tax-reform-2025

• Bill Summary: https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/finance_committee_summary1.pdf

• Section-by-Section Analysis (copy attached and link here):https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/finance_committee_section-by-section_title_vii3.pdf

• The Draft Legislative Text:https://www.finance.senate.gov/download/finance-committee-legislative-text-title-vii

We expect the Senate to begin some debate on the legislation this week but with Thursday being a federal holiday (Juneteenth), real debate will begin next week.  The Senate is going to race to try and pass their version as soon as possible to meet President Trump’s request to have a final bill – agreed to with the House of Representatives – on his desk for signature by July 4th.   

But seeing the significant differences between the Senate and House on the SALT provisions, Section 899, and Medicaid cuts  - all highly contentious issues which House Republicans spent the last several weeks loudly warning Senate Republicans not to change – we see it as unlikely Congress will meet the July 4th deadline.  Instead, we do not see easy compromises on these points suggesting to us efforts to reach a deal could go for the better part of the summer. 

Please let us know if you have any questions.

The Midwest Convenience Store & Energy Convention 2024

A Gathering of Some of America’s Greatest Small Business Entrepreneurs

I had the great privilege to speak at the Midwest Convenience Store & Energy Convention 2024 in St. Paul, Minnesota, this past week. The attendees really represent the heart and soul of American small business. It is truly amazing how critical what they do is to our daily lives, and I suspect many of us take it for granted the service they provide in keeping the broader economy flowing smoothly. We gas up, change our oil, get our coffee on the way to work, and maybe breakfast and lunch.

But I would argue they are also, in many ways, the first line of defense medically for us - where else do you go at any hour of the night to get medicines for your sick child or even yourself? You go to them first before a doctor’s office or even an “iffy” visit to an emergency room to deal with a sick family member. As one who had a chronically ill child for many years, I can attest to this fact.

My deep gratitude to the MCSC organizers for giving me the opportunity to not only speak at your convention but also spend time with your members and hear firsthand the many issues and ideas they have regarding politics and policy in this country. They are smart, common-sense folks—some of them running family operations that are more than a century old!