Pub. 12 2017-2018 Issue 5

NEBRASKA BANKERS ASSOCIATION 9 Email Rob Nichols at nichols@ aba.com . ©American Bankers Association. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800 Omaha, NE 68124 402.390.9500 koleyjessen .com Dynamic Legal Advisors for the Business Minded Marlon M. Lofgren Donald L. Swanson M. Shaun McGaughey Thomas F. Ackley Max J. Burbach Matthew J. Speiker Brian J. Koenig Kristin M. Krueger Taylor C. Dieckman Our Banking, Finance and Creditors’ Rights Team: and real estate customers, who we said would be harmed by more substantial limits. • Heeded concerns about the treat- ment of pass-through entities like Subchapter S banks and brought the rate closer in line to the “promised” rate. • Removed provisions that would have eliminated the benefits of deferred compensation plans. • Corrected an issue relating to income recognition for mortgage servicing rights and other trans- actions. • Steered clear of imposing a new bank tax as a means of paying for tax cuts. • Maintained a variety of tax cred- its, 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 excep- tion: 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 articu- lated 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 con- troversial 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 andmen on ABA’s tax commit- tee 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 alsomade a tangible difference. Together, this banker-staff tax reform team artfully balanced the politics and policy behind a highly complex and highly charged legis- lative process, and they did so in amanner 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. 