MACNY Stands With Members On Key Legislation In Congress
Randy Wolken, President & CEO

As US Congress reconvenes this fall, MACNY and the Manufacturers Alliance will work with our allies at the national level to ensure your interests are well represented. Two particular bills are on our radar – bipartisan infrastructure reform and reconciliation.

Bipartisan infrastructure reform is a $1.2 trillion investment that would fund roads, bridges, upgrades to the electric power grid and energy infrastructure, passenger and freight rail, public transit, airports, water systems, broadband, and other critical priorities. MACNY fully supports this bill and calls for its passage and rapid implementation. The bipartisan infrastructure reform bill is transformative—every passing day is a lost opportunity for the country and manufacturers everywhere. This action must move forward.

The second piece of legislation is reconciliation. Democrats are considering a multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation bill that would supplement the bipartisan infrastructure reform bill with additional priorities in areas like health care, climate change, and labor rules. Unfortunately, this bill contains significant increases in corporate taxes, individual taxes, and estate taxes. It also involves meaningful changes in international tax policy that would harm manufacturers and procedures that could damage the employer-employee relationship. Finally, it could stifle much-needed innovation in the pharmaceutical sector, vital to addressing global health risks like the current pandemic.

The bill proposes more than $2 trillion in tax increases that could hit every segment of the manufacturing economy. Proposed changes could affect every size manufacturer. Big corporations would see significant corporate tax increases. Globally engaged firms would see substantial changes to the Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) provision, the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT), and a more limited incentive to locate intellectual property in the US. Family-owned businesses would see estate tax reforms and meaningful increases to the capital gains rate. Small and medium manufacturers would see changes to the tax system for pass-through entities. The bill would also make it harder to finance new equipment purchases through further limitations on interest deductibility on business loans.

MACNY stands with our members in opposing these changes, which would make our members less competitive in the global manufacturing market. As you can see, these changes would affect every manufacturer when we are recovering from the pandemic and beginning to see real growth in US manufacturing.

Please continue to inform us of your wishes and challenges concerning public policy at the state and federal levels. With your help, we will educate our representatives and help shape the legislative priorities that will impact your future growth and viability. If you have any insights you wish to share with us, you can contact Tiffany Latino-Gerlock at [email protected] or me at [email protected].