Trump officials OK truce over implementation of tax cuts
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department has relinquished some of its authority over implementation of the Trump tax cuts, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin ceding the ability to review regulations to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is headed by Mick Mulvaney.
An agreement announced Thursday by two of President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers marks the end of a monthslong turf war that some tax experts feared could delay rollout of the law. The agreement centralizes more power within the White House, giving it more control over how the tax bill is interpreted.
The $1.5 trillion tax overhaul was rushed through Congress late last year and has left many lingering questions the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, which is part of the department, have been scrambling to answer.
Key among those are what kinds of businesses qualify as “pass-through” companies that are eligible for a new 20 percent deduction and how broadly to apply the international tax provisions aimed at preventing large companies from shifting profits overseas.
Trump spoke about the tax cuts Thursday in a speech at the White House Rose Garden.
“We're going to discuss our massive tax cuts that are growing paychecks all over our country,” said Trump, who was joined by more than 100 workers and executives from companies that have benefited. “They're creating jobs and expanding the American dream just like we said would happen.”
Last year Trump called for a review of the Treasury’s exemption from the usual practice of the budget office doing cost-benefit analyses of regulations issued by government agencies, sparking a turf war between Mulvaney and Mnuchin.
Under the new agreement, the White House budget office will review Treasury regulations that could create interference or inconsistencies with regulations from other agencies.
It would also assess regulations that raise “novel” legal or policy issues. And regulations that have a revenue effect on the economy of more than $100 million will receive additional scrutiny.