As Nobel Laureate BOB DYLAN once professed “THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN’.” Problem is it’s very difficult to project the direction of change.
Between last nights election and the Cubs winning the World Series, not everything is predictable and nothing is impossible.
What follows is rank speculation, more guesswork than prognostication and some of it seems obvious, which is quite scary considering the unpredictable seems to be the norm.
It seems obvious that President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan will work together to create massive tax reform in 2017.
Accordingly, it appears to me that top tax rates will fall and efforts should be made to postpone income into 2017 where it should be taxed at a lower rate.
It follows that deductions should be accelerated into 2016. Charitable contributions and state taxes or miscellaneous itemized deductions (to the extent they don’t trigger Alternative Minimum Taxes) should be made in 2016 where they will count more.
Capital Expenditures, especially those qualifying for bonus depreciation or Section 179 expensing should be placed into service into 2016.
There is likely going to be a drastic change or total elimination of Estate taxes. Estate planning (beyond planning for health care surrogacy, durable power of attorney, etc.) should be put on hold pending the inevitable changes.
Taxable gifts, in excess of the annual & lifetime exclusion, should be postponed, as it is likely they will be taxed less if taxed at all.
If they pursue Corporate Tax Reform and Profit Repatriation, there should be massive availability of cash, for growth, investment, dividends, stock buybacks and merger & acquisition.
With a tight job market and business growth we should see wage inflation, and all of the inflationary pressures should follow.
Yes the times they are a changin’ and we will all adapt, I can’t predict it but “the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”
