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Kudlow Says Relief Bill Negotiations Expected After July Fourth

Posted on June 11, 2020

Discussions on the next round of coronavirus relief legislation will likely begin “in earnest” after the July Fourth holiday, according to National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow.

Trump administration officials previously anticipated that negotiations would begin later this month.

Kudlow reiterated some of President Trump’s tax priorities for upcoming relief bills on CNBC June 10, such as a payroll tax holiday for workers, which the president has been pushing for since March.

“There are a number of things he’s talked about time and time again,” Kudlow said, including tax deductions for small businesses, restaurants, and the tourism industry as they look to rebuild after the pandemic.

Trump has “looked at the capital gains tax,” Kudlow said. The president suggested eliminating the capital gains tax altogether during a May 8 White House news conference.

To encourage people to start working again, “we will have, I believe, some kind of assistance or credit for a ‘return-to-work’ scenario,” Kudlow said. It’s unclear what that would look like, although Senate Finance Committee member Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, have proposed bonuses for people who find jobs and stop collecting unemployment, according to a May 29 Washington Post report.

The president has talked about infrastructure, Kudlow said, which is also of interest to House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., who said he planned to discuss his infrastructure policy priorities with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on June 5. 

Kudlow also referenced onshoring during the CNBC interview, saying the president wants to provide tax incentives and other assistance for companies that return to the United States.

“The fashionable idea of long and complicated supply chains has really changed during this pandemic because of China’s unreliability,” Kudlow said.

Trump has proposed enacting new taxes for businesses that manufacture products internationally in an effort to encourage more domestic production.

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