Tax Panel ‘Plugging Away’ at ‘Blue Book’ With Potential Fixes

As the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation prepares its explanation of enacted tax legislation, practitioners are highly anticipating the so-called blue book as the first major piece of legislative history for last year’s retirement package and the tax-and-climate law.

The JCT generally releases a blue book at the end of each two-year session of Congress, explaining enacted legislation and, for many provisions, the reasoning behind a particular change. The document, which is prepared by JCT in consultation with the tax-writing committees in Congress, is used by the Treasury Department, IRS, and tax professionals to determine what lawmakers intended when they ...