Advocacy in action blog

Congress is looking to extend expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – which include reduced individual tax rates and a 20% deduction of qualified pass-through income for sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S-corporations – while at the same time creating new tax cuts President Donald Trump promised during his campaign. The Congressional Budget Office projects that extending the TCJA alone will cost around $4.6 trillion over 10 years. Lawmakers and the administration are looking to cover the cost by finding new sources of revenue and government spending cuts. We would be naïve to think the insurance and financial services industry will escape scrutiny.

Members of Congress need to understand that the products and services provided by insurance and financial professionals are part of the solution. Tax laws and other policies that encourage Americans to take control of their own financial well-being, plan for retirement, and mitigate life’s inevitable risks strengthen the economy and can reduce government spending. Insurance products and services also improve Americans’ quality of life by providing financial security and reducing financial worries. The results of two surveys, one by LIMRA and Life Happens and the other by ACLI, illustrate the points.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network released an interim final rule that eliminates a beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirement for U.S. businesses. The rule exempts domestic reporting companies and U.S. citizens and residents who are beneficial owners of foreign reporting companies.

Participate and make a difference! Come to Washington, D.C., May 19-20, for the 2025 Congressional Conference, NAIFA's signature advocacy event!

Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), and 33 Republican Senators have introduced the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, a bill that would make the 20% pass-through business tax deduction permanent. Representative Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) has introduced companion legislation in the House, which is co-sponsored by 153 Representatives. The deduction is currently set to expire with many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at the end of this year. 

Confusion over the status of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is causing hardship for businesses across the country. The legislation, passed in 2021, requires an estimated 32.5 million businesses to file paperwork providing sensitive information about ownership with a division of the U.S. Department of Treasury by January 1, 2025. Under the law, companies that fail to comply would face fines of up to $590 per day. A federal court has issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the Treasury from enforcing the reporting requirements, but that decision is under appeal.

This issue is important to NAIFA because many NAIFA members are business owners or provide financial services for small business clients, even if the CTA does exempt securities brokers or dealers, licensed insurance producers, public accounting firms, and several other types of companies. NAIFA has joined a group of trade organizations supporting legislation that would delay enforcement of the reporting requirements by one year even if the court’s preliminary injunction is lifted. In a letter to Congressional leadership, NAIFA and the other organizations strongly urge lawmakers to include language delaying the CTA requirements in a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government into the new year. Doing so would remove a great deal of uncertainty for American businesses.

The larger funding CR is currently hung up in Congress due to disputes over issues unrelated to the CTA funding provision. 

On behalf of the entire NAIFA family, I am pleased to congratulate NAIFA’s Senior Vice President for Government Relations Diane Boyle, who has been recognized as a Top Association Lobbyist for 2024 by The Hill, a prestigious newspaper covering federal politics. 

NAIFA Senior Vice President for Government Relations Diane Boyle participated in a legislative panel at OneAmerica's Long-Term Care Summit. The summit featured discussions by industry thought leaders focused on the future of long-term care, covering everything from industry trends and government and regulation considerations to consumer perspectives.

The campaigns are done, the voting is over, and the results are becoming clear. Donald Trump will return to the White House as the 47^th President of the United States. Republicans will also control the Senate with at least 52 seats. Races determining which party controls the House of Representatives have yet to be decided (and may not be for some time).

We have an exciting opportunity for you to put your name forward as a nominee to serve on the Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council or the Federal Reserve Board’s Insurance Policy Advisory Committee. Details for each are below. If nominated and selected, you will be able to provide critical input on the important role financial professionals and insurance producers play in securing Americans’ futures.

NAIFA along with the American Council of Life Insurers and other advocacy partners recently notched a major win in our lawsuit opposing the Department of Labor’s fiduciary-only rule. As we shared with you last week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted a stay in the lawsuit that prevents the DOL rule from going into effect September 23.