Here’s a look at recent tax-related happenings on the Hill, including committee markup meetings and trade agreements in process with China and the United Kingdom.
Lately on the Hill
House Ways & Means Passes Tax Bill
The House Ways and Means Committee passed its portion of the budget reconciliation bill in a 26 to 19 vote. At the moment, the two remaining House committees, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Agriculture Committee, are meeting to mark up their respective texts.
Notable tax provisions included within the Ways and Means Committee’s bill include an increase to the qualified business income deduction under Section 199A from 20% to 23% while making it permanent, rate reductions for global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) and foreign-derived intangible income (FDII), and making permanent the unified estate and gift tax exemption increased to $15 million per taxpayer. The individual deduction limitation for state and local taxes is proposed to be increased to $15,000 for married persons filing separately earning up to $200,000 and $30,000 for all other filers earning up to $400,000.
With this development, Forvis Mazars’ Washington National Tax Office (WNTO) has released its legislative tracker providing up-to-date information as federal tax legislation is introduced in Congress. The legislation tracker can be accessed through the WNTO’s website. This tracker includes a description of the provision, its status in the legislative process, and insights into its application and potential impact.
The Energy and Commerce Committee and the Agriculture Committee are responsible for the majority of the $1.5 trillion in spending cuts House committees have been instructed to achieve at $880 billion and $230 billion, respectively. However, anything less than $2 trillion will have to come out of the Ways and Means Committee’s allocation of $4.5 trillion for tax cuts.
The spending cuts the two committees have been laden with are proving difficult to achieve as they will likely have to target social spending programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—avenues that have been unpopular among some Republicans.
Despite the cost-cutting conundrum, 32 Republican members of Congress reaffirmed their commitment to the reduction instructions. “The House reconciliation instructions are binding,” states the May 7 letter to Republican leadership, “They set a floor for savings, not a ceiling. We must hold that line on fiscal discipline to put the country back on a sustainable path. We are more committed than ever to making that happen.”
Once the remaining three committees complete their work, the House Budget Committee will assemble all legislative texts from the various committees with budget reconciliation instructions for a vote by the full House with hopes by Republican leadership that it passes by Memorial Day.
Trade Agreements in Process With China & the UK, Tariffs Coming for Foreign-Produced Films
A joint statement between the U.S. and China on trade was released on May 12, 2025, following discussions between the countries in Geneva. The statement provides that as of May 14, 2025, the trading partners will suspend, for 90 days, tariffs in excess of 10% imposed after April 2, 2025. The other 20% tariffs the U.S. has imposed on China will remain in place, bringing the total tariffs on China to 30%. According to the statement, “After taking the aforementioned actions, the Parties will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations.” The White House released an executive order to implement the agreed-upon terms.
The White House released a trade agreement framework that the U.S. and the United Kingdom have agreed upon. A fact sheet provided by the Office of the United States Trade Representative summarizes key propositions, including increased access for U.S. farmers, ranchers, and producers into the U.K., decreased tariffs on U.K. auto imports, and a “new trading relationship for steel and aluminum between our countries.” A 10% baseline tariff will remain on imports to the U.S. with certain exceptions.1
Last week, President Donald Trump announced intentions to impose a 100% tariff on movies filmed or produced outside the U.S. in an effort to boost the country’s film industry.2 Shortly after the announcement, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed his support, “We’re eager to partner with the Trump administration to further strengthen domestic production and Make America Film Again.” The governor also proposed $7.5 billion in federal tax credits to incentivize domestic production.3
