Over the next few months, lawmakers will be examining data, studies, and expert analysis when debating whether to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on Jan. 14 to speak with individuals affected by the tax law. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said making then-President Donald Trump’s tax cuts permanent provides families and small businesses with clarity, ensuring they will not face a massive tax bill. “We achieved record 50-year low levels of poverty and unemployment and restored American manufacturing. American families and small businesses need certainty that they will not be hit with a $4.6 trillion tax increase at the end of this year,” Smith said in a Jan. 10 statement announcing the hearing. “Without action, workers’ paychecks one year from today will look drastically different as they fork over even more to Uncle Sam.”…