Rep. Estes Named Chair of U.S. Innovation Tax Team, Member of Global Competitiveness Team
Washington,
April 26, 2024
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Roman Rodriguez
(316-262-8992)
This week, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) and Tax Subcommittee Chairman Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania) named Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) chair of the newly formed U.S. Innovation Tax Team, one of ten working groups comprised of committee members to study key tax provisions from the 2017 Trump tax cuts that are set to expire in 2025 and to identify legislative solutions that will continue to help families, workers, and small businesses struggling in the Biden economy. In addition to chairing the U.S. Innovation Tax Team, Rep. Estes will also serve on the Global Competitiveness Tax Team.
"Americans are innovators – it's in our DNA. From the air conditioner to the zipper and everything in between, Americans have been at the forefront of innovations that changed the world," said Rep. Estes. "As we approach the middle of the third decade of the 21st century, it's imperative that we show the world that our ingenuity and entrepreneurial roots aren't gone – we're just getting started. Innovators in my 4th District of Kansas are making breakthroughs to advance defense and aerospace technology, biotechnology, chips and semiconductors and biofuels and carbon capture technology. "We need a tax code that reflects our creative spirit and encourages more homegrown research, experimentation, development and innovation – and makes it possible for the people and companies doing this cutting-edge work to make the U.S. their home base. I’m excited to work with Vice Chair Michelle Steel (R-California) and our team to talk with stakeholders and develop plans that will enhance American innovation." U.S. Innovation Tax Team Membership: Chair: Rep. Ron Estes (Kansas) Vice Chair: Rep. Michelle Steel (California) Rep. David Schweikert (Arizona) Rep. Drew Ferguson (Georgia) Rep. Kevin Hern (Oklahoma) Rep. Greg Murphy (North Carolina) Background Rep. Estes has been a leader in advocating for American innovation. Reps. Estes and Rep. John Larson (D-Connecticut) reintroduced H.R. 2673 – the American Innovation and R&D Competitiveness Act – on April 18, 2023. Rep. Estes delivered remarks on the House floor in April of 2023 and numerous organizations offered their support following the bill’s introduction. In June, Rep. Estes testified on the legislation in a Small Business Committee subcommittee, discussed the bill during a Ways and Means markup for the committee's Build It in America Act – an economic package that included a version of Rep. Estes' bill and was reported out of committee and penned an op-ed for The Hill highlighting the then more than 100 cosponsors and touting the benefits of the legislation. In December, Rep. Estes spoke to Tax Notes about the expired provision and published an op-ed in Newsweek unpacking the positive outcomes – for individual taxpayers and across the economy – made possible by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 and explaining how his bipartisan bill offers a solution to the expired R&D expensing provision that would help restore America’s dominance in R&D and secure American jobs. On Jan. 11, 2024, Rep. Estes led colleagues in a Special Order hour to discuss the importance of R&D immediate expensing and other pro-growth tax policies. During the Ways and Means markup of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, Rep. Estes again urged colleagues to support R&D expensing, saying, "Simply put, Republicans and Democrats agree that this is going to boost our economy and our workforce." Before the House passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act that included R&D provisions from Rep. Estes' bill, he spoke on the House floor in support of its pro-growth, pro-innovation policies. The next week, he published a press release with multiple Kansas and national organizations praising the passage of the bill. In line with his membership on the Global Competitiveness tax team, Rep. Estes has also been a fierce advocate for U.S. global competitiveness, including his opposition to the detrimental aspects of the OECD's Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 framework. Last year, he penned an op-ed in The Hill, questioned Secretary Yellen at a Ways and Means hearing, questioned treasury staff and discussed OECD Pillar 2 at a Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee hearing, published a Bloomberg op-ed with Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), introduced the Unfair Tax Protection Act to impose reciprocal taxes on countries that use the OECD deal to impose unfair taxes on U.S. business and raid the U.S. tax base, sent a letter signed by a dozen Ways and Means colleagues to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raising concerns and seeking answers about the economic impact of Pillar 2, and co-authored an op-ed with British MP Priti Patel in the Daily Telegraph to expose the harms of the OECD's international tax grab and express their strong opposition to the plan. In February, Rep. Estes delivered remarks and questioned witnesses at a Trade Subcommittee hearing condemning the abandonment of U.S. digital trade priorities by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) at the World Trade Organization. At a Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee hearing, Rep. Estes directly addressed the issues with Pillar 1, and he talked about the challenges of ceding too much authority to the OECD with U.S. Trade Representative Tai during a full Ways and Means Committee hearing. |