Complications from the Border-Adjusted Cash Flow Tax

In defending the border tax adjustment (BTA) in their tax reform proposal, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady say that one of its objectives—or side benefits—is to encourage exports and discourage imports. The plan, for example, would subject imports to the proposed 20 percent cash flow tax while exports would be exempt. Businesses, especially retailers and firms involved in global supply chains, are bound to be affected, and lobbyists for the potential winners and losers are lining up in droves to make their arguments in Congress.