Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, exits after a Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) meeting at the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

The U.S. Department of the Treasury did some early spring cleaning, tossing out almost 300 tax regulations that it no longer thought were necessary, according to an announcement Thursday.

Specifically, Treasury gave the green light to repeal 296 tax regulations it deemed regulatory “deadwood” as part of the two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump. These rules “do not have any current or future applicability under the Internal Revenue Code,” according to the IRS.

The subject matter of the various tax regulations includes extensions of the grace period for foreclosure property by a real estate investment trust, investment credit for movie and television films, qualified joint and survivor annuities, and estate tax provisions.

“Unnecessary regulation creates compliance costs and confusion that make it difficult for American businesses, families, and workers to get ahead,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “By eliminating nearly 300 regulations that serve no useful purpose to taxpayers, we are building a more efficient tax regulatory system that promotes economic growth.”

The executive orders cited are the Feb. 24, 2017, order Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda and the Presidential Executive Order on Identifying and Reducing Tax Regulatory Burdens, signed April 21, 2017.

The orders pushed for action to immediately “reduce the burden existing tax regulations impose on American taxpayers and thereby to provide tax relief and useful, simplified tax guidance.”

Elizabeth Festa is a longtime business and financial services reporter with a specialty in insurance regulatory and legislative coverage at the federal and state level. She is based in Washington, DC.

From: ThinkAdvisor

Instant Insights /

Treasury Repeals Nearly 300 Tax Regulations in 'Deadwood' Dump

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