The Senate voted 48-44 against invoking cloture on H.R. 7024, the “Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act,” also known as the “Smith-Wyden tax deal.” Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), and Rick Scott (R-FL) joined with most Democrats in supporting the bill, while Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Joe Manchin (I-WV) voted with Republicans in opposition to the bill.
The roughly $79 billion tax package included provisions to restore full and immediate deductions that businesses can take for the purchase of new equipment and machinery, and for domestic research and development expenses, as well as changes to the child tax credit to allow more low-income families to take fuller advantage of the credit. To pay for these provisions, the bill speeds up the cut-off date by which companies could submit retroactive claims for the pandemic-era Employee Retention Tax Credit.