About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1 1 (March 31, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/goveavy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 







              Congressional                                                       ____
              SResearch Service IE






Technical Corrections to Tax Reform



Updated March 31, 2020
For some in Congress, technical corrections to the 2017 tax revision (commonly known as the Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA; P.L. 115-97) have been a legislative priority. It is not always clear, however,
what is strictly a technical correction. This Insight highlights provisions that have been widely
discussed as technical corrections to the 2017 tax revision, starting with provisions in former Ways and
Means  Committee Chairman Kevin Brady's 2019 technical corrections discussion draft. It then
highlights other fixes to the 2017 tax revision that might be considered, even if those fixes might fall
outside the scope of what would be considered by most to be a technical correction. Since this Insight
was first published on October 9, 2019, five of the provisions discussed have been addressed in recently
enacted legislation. These changes are noted below.
For some, there is an understanding that technical corrections are provisions that are generally
noncontroversial changes to the text of already enacted tax legislation to ensure that the law as enacted is
consistent with Congress's original intent. What some might consider a true technical correction would
also not affect revenue. However, there is no formal definition of a technical correction.


The Technical Corrections Discussion Draft

On January 2, 2019, Representative Brady released the Tax Technical and Clerical Corrections Act
Discussion Draft. The preamble of the draft notes that technical corrections are needed to properly
reflect the original Congressional intent of provisions that were included in P.L. 115-97 (as well as other
legislation). The discussion draft includes technical corrections that had been developed as of the January
2, 2019, release date, but acknowledges additional technical corrections may be identified in the future.
The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) also released a technical explanation of the discussion draft.
Representative Brady's discussion draft would address some of the technical corrections that have
garnered widespread media attention. Lawmakers in the 116h Congress have introduced stand-alone bills
to address some of the technical corrections that were included in the discussion draft. Representative
Brady's discussion draft also includes a number of technical corrections not included in stand-alone
legislation in the 116th Congress.
The discussion draft would have made technical changes to the kiddie tax that would address concerns
regarding how certain military survivors' benefits have been taxed post-P.L. 115-97. This issue was


                                                                 Congressional Research Service
                                                                   https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                       IN11175

CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and


Committees of Congress

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most