Larry's Tax Law

As reported on May 16, 2025, the SALT cap proposal contained in the legislation that was pending in the U.S. House of Representatives (“House”) aimed at, among other things, dealing with the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) was not well received by lawmakers from high-income tax states such as Oregon, New York, Hawaii and California.  That proposal increased the SALT cap from $10,000 to $30,000, but it contained a downward adjustment for taxpayers with “modified adjusted gross income” over $400,000.  For this purpose, modified adjusted gross income is adjusted gross income plus any amounts excluded from income under Code Sections 911, 931 and 933.  Under that proposal, the $30,000 cap is reduced by 20% of a taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income to the extent it exceeds $400,000 ($200,000 in the case of a married taxpayer filing separately).  However, the SALT cap cannot be reduced below $10,000 ($5,000 in the case of a married taxpayer filing separately).

It appears the SALT cap proposal may have been the last item holding up the passage of the bill by members of the House.  After hours of debate and discussion, the proposal was modified, and the House passed the bill on May 22, 2025.  It now sits in the U.S. Senate (“Senate”), where it is expected this provision of the bill, among others, will face fierce debate.

As reported on May 13, 2025, several changes to the Washington state tax laws were passed by lawmakers and delivered to the desk of Governor Ferguson in late April, awaiting his signature to make them law.  In the aggregate, these changes create what is likely the largest historical increase in taxes the state has ever seen.  While there was some speculation that the governor would not sign all of the bills into law, especially since they had been sitting on his desk for more than three weeks, that speculation is no longer.  Governor Ferguson signed these bills into law on May 20, 2025.

Oregon House Bill 3115 (“HB 3115”) was sponsored by Representatives John Lively (D) and Kimberly Wallan (R).  It was co-sponsored by Representatives Tom Anderson (D), David Gomberg (D) and Nathan Sosa (D). 

HB 3115 was introduced in the Oregon House of Representatives (“House”) on January 13, 2025. It passed the House on March 17, 2025.  The legislation was introduced in the Oregon Senate (“Senate”) on March 18, 2025.  It passed in the Senate on April 29, 2025.  The bill was signed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate on May 1, 2025.  Governor Kotek signed HB 3115 on May 8, 2025.  The bill becomes law 91 days following adjournment sine die (i.e., the final adjournment of the legislative session).

Background

Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”), there was no direct limitation on an individual taxpayer’s deduction of his or her state and local taxes (“SALT”) on the federal individual income tax return.  Of course, for high-income taxpayers, the SALT deduction often triggered the alternative minimum tax.

As of 2018, as a result of the TCJA, the SALT deduction for individuals was capped at $10,000 per year for both single and married taxpayers filing jointly ($5,000 for married taxpayers filing separately).  Hence, the cap contains an inherent “marriage penalty.” 

The SALT cap was added to the TCJA, in part, as a compromise for an increase in the standard deduction (almost doubling it from pre-TCJA days). It is, however, set to sunset at the end of this year.

Many individuals, wanting to liberate their wallets from taxes, have moved to states like Washington, Nevada, Texas, Florida and other states that have friendly state and local tax regimes.  This trend, especially for residents of high-tax states such as New York, Oregon and California, has increased in recent years. 

Until 2022, Washington had been a top choice for many individuals seeking a better tax climate. Effective January 1, 2022, however, Washington lawmakers adopted a capital gains tax, causing several residents to look for residency outside of Washington, including billionaire Jeff Bezos who moved to Florida.  Additionally, effective January 1, 2022, the city of Seattle adopted a new payroll tax on certain businesses with payrolls of $7 million or more.  On top of that, effective January 1, 2025, the city of Seattle upped the ante, adopting an additional payroll tax of 5% on businesses with high-earning employees (5% of annual compensation paid to any employee in excess of $1 million who is based at a business location within the city). 

Rather than let the seas calm, Washington lawmakers are once again changing the tax terrain in the state.  Several tax bills have been passed by the legislature and are on Governor Ferguson’s desk waiting to be signed into law.  Whether these bills will become law is yet to be seen.

It was about 5:30 p.m. PT last Friday, March 21, 2025, and I was about to sign off from my computer after a long week and turn my attention to college basketball, when I received an email from FinCEN.  The message was that FinCEN had issued an interim final rule relative to the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). 

I am embarrassed to admit that my curiosity got the best of me.  Rather than jump into a weekend of exciting college basketball, I chose to read the 36-page interim final rule (the “IFR”).  Yes, I am a bit consumed with the saga of the CTA.  However, thanks to my cable provider, my DVR had been busy all day recording the games.  So, after scouring the IFR, I was able to enjoy a late night of college hoops.

I was hoping to take a short breather from covering the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). However, I am getting several inquiries from attorneys and business owners, asking if they have missed anything with respect to the CTA and more specifically whether the CTA is dead or alive.  Accordingly, I decided to provide readers with a brief update. 

I apologize in advance if this report creates stress or anxiety.  Unfortunately, this entire ordeal has created unrest for business owners and their advisers.  We continue to hope that the saga will come to an end.

If you feel punch-drunk from the rapid-fire updates to the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), you are not alone.  It is hard to keep up with the madness surrounding this law.

Hoping not to stupefy readers, I will address what I believe is the latest major development in the life of the CTA.  The Treasury made an earth-shattering announcement this past Sunday that can be broken down into the following two bite-size components:

On Thursday, February 27, 2025, FinCEN announced that it will not issue any penalties or pursue enforcement action against reporting companies for the mere failure to meet the current filing deadlines. That news for many is like the title to British songwriter and singer Zoë’s hit song Sunshine on a Rainy Day!

Be aware, this reprieve only lasts until FinCEN issues its interim final rules and they become effective. These rules are expected to be issued on or before March 21, 2025.  Consequently, for those reporting companies that have not registered yet, they need to keep a keen eye on the ball. Alternatively, those companies may want to consider filing before the extended deadline to avoid a foot fault.

I was hoping that I could report to my readers that the turbulent and lengthy ride of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) was, one way or another, finally over!  Unfortunately, I am unable to deliver that news today.  Instead, I am briefly reporting on the most recent development in the crazy saga.

From previous reporting, you may recall that, on January 23, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. et al v. Merrick Garland, Attorney General of the United States et al., lifted the Fifth Circuit’s injunction, that was preventing the government from enforcing the CTA.   However, as also reported, the SCOTUS decision had no practical impact on the government’s ability to enforce the CTA because another court (the Eastern District of Texas) in a different case (Smith et. al.  v. U.S. Department of Treasury et. al.) had issued (on January 7, 2025) a nationwide injunction against the government’s enforcement of the CTA.  Accordingly, that court’s injunction, despite the high court’s decision in Texas Top Cop Shot, Inc., remained in place.