Construction companies should brace for change.
The 30-plus-year drought since the last tax code overhaul is now over as Congress sets out to vote on and place a now-finalized tax bill on President Donald Trump’s desk. The bill slashes the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, and also includes massive changes to how income earned or kept offshore is treated. Every industry could see effects — including higher education. Here’s a 60-second overview of what the bill could change for the construction industry, and where other industries that impact construction stand on it:
IMPACT: The public construction sector will benefit from the uninterrupted flow of private-activity bond financing, and both the contractors who are structured as pass-through entities and C Corporations will see significant tax relief.
POSITION: The retention of tax-free status for PABs, as well as favorable treatment of energy-related exploration and tax credits have some segments of the industry breathing a sigh of relief, but potential PAB use limits and the locking out of design professionals from being able to take advantage of the new, lower pass-through tax rate could result in some pushback.
ANALYSIS: The House GOP tax bill, passed early in November, took aim at PABs – a financing scheme that allows private entities developing public projects to borrow at the same tax-free rate as government agencies do – and eliminated them altogether. The Senate’s version restored PABs, possibly driven by the expectation that they will play a big role in financing the president’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan, but both chambers call for a termination of another popular funding vehicle, tax-exempt stadium bonds. Some states and municipalities rely on tax-free bonds for their contributions to the new construction and renovation of sports venues – often a condition of being able to snag a professional team – but, according to the Brookings Institution, the federal government loses out to the tunes of billions when projects that are financed this way.
The latest version of the reconciled bill also sets a new 21% tax rate for corporations, a break for everyone except those low-earners that currently pay 15%. But many construction companies are pass-through entities, a structure that allows owners to include business profits on their personal tax returns. The new tax reform measure gives those individuals a 20% break on that income, a bigger break that the House bill’s rate of 25%. However, some in the industry were frustrated by a provision that professional service and consulting firms like architects and engineers to take that deduction.
Many thanks to the EDITORIAL TEAM at CONSTRUCTION DIVE for originally posting this
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