October 30, 2017 

• Tax Reform Plan Expected Soon
• FTC Announces Informational Injury Workshop
• New FTC Chair to be Nominated

Tax Reform Plan Expected Soon

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, plans to release comprehensive tax reform legislation on Wednesday, November 1. According to the previously released United Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code, the corporate tax rate will be lowered to 20% and many “special exclusions and deductions will be repealed or restricted.” The Chairman has not said which deductions would be limited, or more specifically, whether the advertising deduction will be targeted.

Because the release of the Chairman’s plan will not be until after the publication of this issue of the Government Report, look for a special issue of the Report the week of November 6.

FTC Announces Informational Injury Workshop

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a public notice announcing a December 12, 2017 workshop to examine potential injuries consumers may suffer when information about them is misused. Among the questions to be addressed are:

AAF and our allied trade associations have filed comments with the Commission reminding them of the benefits of responsible data practices which help to deliver goods and services to consumers and fuel economic growth. The comments argue “that legal frameworks in the privacy and security arenas should address specific, concrete injuries that cause or are likely to cause substantial injury to consumers, which are not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves, and are not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition.”

The Digital Advertising Alliance, the AAF supported self-regulatory program for online advertising also filed comments.

New FTC Chair to be Nominated

The White House has announced that Joseph Simons will be nominated to be the next Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Simons is an expert in competition law and is co-chair of the antitrust practice and the Paul Weiss law firm. Simons previously served at the FTC as the director of the Commission’s competition bureau during the George W. Bush administration.

The White House also announced that Rohit Chopra, a former senior official with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be nominated as a Commissioner in an open Democratic position.

Currently Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican, and Terrell McSweeny, a Democrat are the only two commissioners on what is normally a five commissioner agency.