Lawmaker Questions IRS Official on ‘Pillar 2,’ IT Spending and 2.6% Growth Assumption in Tax Bill

A U.S. representative who identified himself as representing Ogden, Utah pressed Secretary Besson on Wednesday about the potential effects of the OECD’s “pillar 2” rules, the Internal Revenue Service’s technology spending and the economic growth assumptions used to score a recently passed House Republican tax bill.

The exchange centered on whether proposed federal tax and regulatory changes would reverse recent trends in corporate repatriation, how the IRS is using staff knowledge to cut waste, and whether a 2.6% annual GDP growth assumption in the bill’s scoring is realistic. “This is a tough discussion, to be able to push back on what pillar 2 could ultimately do where we are losing so much revenue to foreign countries,” the representative said, adding that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act had encouraged some…