Northern Indiana Roundtable 2017 Minutes

NORTH ROUNDTABLE

Timeline:11:15 Registration

11:30 Opening discussion, lunch orders

12:00 Lunch Service

12:45 Roundtable Discussion

2:15Conclusion

Location: BoatHouse Restaurant

700 Park Ave. Winona Lake, IN 46590

2 PDH credits for attendees.

  • Strategic Plan Update- Shelby Swango
  • Strategic Plan (ACEC will bring copies of this for all attendees)
  • Excel report from October Board Meeting
  • Pathway to Leadership (ACEC will bring copies for all attendees)
  • Forums (ACEC will bring copies of this for all attendees)
  • National ACEC Update- Shelby Swango
  • Dave Raymond’s State of the Council
  • ACEC Indiana’s Salary Survey goes out to members in March each year. Results become available to participating firms in May and sold to non-participating member firms in June.Click here to purchase the 2017 Update.
  • ACEC-INDOT issues- Mike Obergfell
  • ACEC and INDOT activities and client update
  • Advocacy Efforts- Beth Bauer
  • A legislative and executive office update for promoting our profession and business interests
  • ACEC's partnering and education activities with industry, legislators, and other initiatives
  • How can we help elevate the perception of our Profession, so that it is truly recognized and rewarded for the benefits we all bring to Society and the Public
  • Water Funding is ACEC Indiana’s next big initiative. See Gov. Holcomb’s emphasis on establishing a multi-agency working group to develop strategies for management of the state’s water resources and infrastructure, and supporting development of asset management plans for high-need water and wastewater utilities in his Next Level Agenda.Pillar II discusses maintaining and building thestate’s Infrastructure.
  • National and Indiana PACs
  • If you have a login created with ACEC National, it’s a very simple process to reach out to your federal legislators concerning the proposed tax reform by clicking here. If you do not have a login created with ACEC National, please see the attachment for a template to send to your federal representatives.
  • Grassroots advocacy is crucial to safeguarding your profession. Please send federal or state legislators for which you have a personal relationship or are a constituent to . Please identify if the relationship is personal or district-based.Find your federal and state legislators via a quick address look-up service here.
  • Qualifications Based Selection
  • ACEC Indiana continues to promote Qualifications Based Selection (QBS). Via an online anonymous form, submit any local that asks for price and ACEC Indiana will send a letter with information promoting QBS.
  • Events & Education- Colleen Merkel
  • Planned activities in Northern Indiana
  • Update on current ACEC Leadership class
  • Networking 101 Event for Emerging Engineers

Tax reform legislation being considered by Congress will lower the top corporate tax rate to 20 percent. The House version of the bill creates a new 25 percent rate for passthrough businesses. The Senate takes a different approach and establishes a 17.4 percent tax deduction for passthroughs. However, both bills deny the passthrough tax benefit to engineering firms and other professional services, leaving these firms with a tax rate that is at least 15 percentage points higher than engineering firms organized as C corporations.
In addition, the legislation eliminates tax deductions and credits both C corporations and passthrough firms use to lower their tax burden and invest in their businesses – particularly the Section 199 domestic production activities deduction – magnifying the difference between their tax rates.Passthrough firms would be left with choosing between a potentially expensive and burdensome transition to a C corporation, or remaining with a tax structure that undercuts their ability to compete in the marketplace.
ACEC members are asked to contact their Representatives and Senators, and urge them not to exclude engineering firms from the lower rates in tax reform.

CALL TO ACTION LETTER

Dear Legislator Title and Name,

On behalf of my firm and our employees, and as an active member of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), I am writing to express serious concerns that engineering firms will be excluded from the lower tax rate for passthrough businesses in the tax reform plan being considered by the House of Representatives. ACEC represents over 5000 engineering companies, and the majority of those are organized as some form of passthrough business, such as S corporations, partnerships, and LLCs. Our member firms are an important part of the nation’s economy, playing a critical role in designing solutions that enhance our roads and bridges, water and wastewater systems, and address other challenges in the built environment.

The tax reform legislation being considered in the House will lower the top corporate tax rate to 20 percent, and create a new 25 percent rate for passthrough businesses. This is a positive step, but for reasons we do not understand the bill denies the new passthrough rate to engineering firms, leaving these firms with a tax rate that is at least 15 percentage points higher than engineering firms organized as C corporations. In addition, the legislation eliminates tax deductions and credits both C corporations and passthrough firms use to lower their tax burden and invest in their businesses, magnifying the difference between their tax rates. Passthrough firms would be left with choosing between a potentially expensive and burdensome transition to a C corporation, or remaining with a tax structure that undercuts their ability to compete in the marketplace.

There is no good public policy reason that justifies a lower tax rate for some passthrough businesses, but not others. On behalf of the employees of our firm and the 5000 member companies of ACEC, we urge the Senate to take a more balanced approach to tax reform and respectfully ask for your help to ensure that all engineering firms are treated equally.

Sincerely,