This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, a landmark bill that is recognized as the single largest reform of the U.S. tax code in the nation’s history. There seems to be broad consensus, across the political spectrum, that the time has once again come for a new overhaul of the tax code, and the election of a new Republican president who will work alongside a House and Senate with Republican majorities seems to have created the perfect scenario for comprehensive tax reform in 2017.

One of the initial items taken up by the new congress was a first-step in the repeal of Obamacare via the Fiscal Year 2017 budget resolution. The resolution includes tools to allow repeal legislation to move through a fast-track process and pass with a simple majority in the Senate, as in the House; reconciliation instructions to four authorizing committees – Ways and Means in the House, Finance, and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) in the Senate – to achieve at least $1 billion each in deficit reduction over 10 years (fiscal years 2017 through 2026); suggested deadlines for the authorizing committees to report legislation to the Senate and House Budget Committees by January 27, 2017 (the legislation will be combined for consideration in both the House and Senate); and reserve funds necessary to accommodate legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare, and accommodate patient-centered health care reform legislation in the future.