Pub. 7 2018 Issue 1

January 2018 23 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s paying for tax cuts. • Maintained a variety of tax credits, particularly the low- income housing and new markets tax credits that are so important to our communities. The result is a final package that is largely aligned with ABA’s core principles for tax reform, with one notable exception: It misses the chance to level the playing field with credit unions and the Farm Credit System. While this is hugely disappointing, it’s not for lack of effort. Bankers have made their views plainly clear to lawmakers for years. We articulated a sound rationale for including these tax-privileged competitors in reform and even offered public opinion research that showed Americans back the idea. In the end, lawmakers viewed this as too controversial to tackle in this bill, but we’ll keep up the fight. Credit for much of what we did achieve goes to the bankers— from institutions of all sizes and from states across the country—who volunteered their time and expertise to the cause. (If you ever doubted whether association service was meaningful, I can put you in touch with the women and men on ABA’s tax committee who helped comb through each 500-page iteration of the tax bill to identify the potential effects on banks.) Our policy experts and lobbying staff also made a tangible difference. Together, this banker-staff tax reform team artfully balanced the politics and policy behind a highly complex and highly charged legislative process, and they did so in a manner that kept the door open to congressional leaders and literally earned us a place at the table. That gave us just a voice, of course, not the final say—and that’s as it should be. Good public policy must consider the views of many. It just so happens the banking industry represents many—from our 2 million employees to the countless communities and customers we serve. That makes effective advocacy a must. I’m proud ABA and the entire industry delivered. E-mail Rob Nichols at nichols@aba.com . April 2018 Legal Update Seminars Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 Overland Park 4 Topeka 5 Wichita 6 7 8 9 Hays 10 Colby 11 Garden City 12 Great Bend 13 14 15 16 17 Salina 18 Marysville 19 Independence 20 21 22 23 24 Wichita 25 Topeka 26 Lenexa 27 28 29 30 Mark Your Calendars Educa�onal Resources 785‐232‐3444 www.ksbankers.com Presented by: Terri Thomas, KBA’s Senior Vice President and Legal Department Director Gold Sponsor They also will help banks, which previously had one of the highest effective tax rates of any business, better serve their customers and the broader economy.