Steve Daines was elected to represent Montana in the U.S. Senate in 2014 after serving a term in the U.S. House as Montana’s at-large member. Senator Daines was a businessman for 28 years before entering politics, including working in the family construction business.

A fifth-generation Montanan, Senator Daines holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University.

Why He’s Important to Agents

Senator Daines is a member of the powerful Senate Finance Committee which has jurisdiction over tax issues, among other areas.

Senator Daines is the lead Senate sponsor of the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (S. 1149), which he introduced in April 2019 with PIA National’s full support. S. 1149 would make permanent the 20 percent deduction for passthrough entities (S corporations) that was created in the 2017 tax law. S. 1149 is a companion bill to H.R. 216, bipartisan House legislation introduced by Representative Jason Smith (R-MO).

PIA National played a key role in ensuring this tax relief for passthrough entities, including qualifying independent insurance agencies. However, the passthrough deduction is a temporary provision of the tax law, unlike the permanent nature of the tax benefits for C corporations. As a result, the benefit for PIA members whose agencies are organized as passthroughs will end on December 31, 2025 unless Congress acts.

PIA National is pleased to have a strong ally in Senator Daines on this issue and has included the Main Street Tax Certainty Act as one of our top priorities for the 2020 PIA Advocacy Day.