[author: Lai Lam]

Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) will release an outline for Tax Cuts 2.0 before the House departs for August recess this week. House GOP tax writers are meeting again today before the rollout.

The outline won’t have enough policy details to satisfy those who have been tracking developments in the past few months — it will simply validate the rumors that have been swirling around Capitol Hill. The highlights are expected to include the following: (1) make permanent the 2017 tax law’s provisions for individuals and pass-through businesses, and (2) expand access to retirement savings accounts. Tax Cuts 2.0 will also contain a number of miscellaneous provisions to encourage innovation among startups. Of note, Rep. Devin Nunes’s (D-CA) proposal (H.R. 6444) to index capital gains to inflation has been catching a lot of buzz in recent weeks, and it may be included in the outline.

Chairman Brady, along with a select group of GOP tax writers, met with President Trump and his economic team last week to discuss the outline and timeline for legislative action. The goal is to hold a House vote in September, but chances of passage in the Senate are low given that the budget reconciliation procedure is not an option this year.