Sources representing the interests of expatriate American owners of small non-U.S. businesses say they're preparing to go ahead with a lawsuit they say will challenge the applicability to small businesses of a key component of President Trump’s December 2017 tax reform legislation, the so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

Ever since President Trump unveiled his so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act just before Christmas in 2017, tax experts familiar with the complex way American expatriates are taxed have been sounding the alarm about what were initially assumed to be the unintended consequences of that legislation on American small-business owners overseas.

Outgoing House Ways and Means Committee chairman Kevin Brady yesterday appeared to respond to concerns that President Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – signed into law in late December 2017 – set the stage for a number of unintended and potentially damaging consequences, with the publication of a discussion draft document that invites public comment on a number of proposed "fixes."

Legislation that its proponents have said would significantly improve the lot of America’s 5.1 million to 9 million expatriates – which had been expected to appear before the end of the year, after failing to materialize in September – is now unlikely to be presented to the House of Representatives for a vote until next year, sources report.

Spokespeople for a number of organizations representing American expats have expressed concern that legislation unveiled earlier this week by House Ways and Means Committee chairman Kevin Brady fails to address certain aspects of President Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of last December that have been particularly harsh for many U.S. expats.