AED Brings Tax Policy Priorities—and Nintendo Switches—to Ways & Means Committee, Ensuring Lawmakers Aren’t “Bored to Death”

AED

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Committee Members asleep in previous meeting.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a bold move to keep the attention of the notoriously tax-weary House Ways & Means Committee, the Associated Equipment

Distributors (AED) presented its tax policy priorities this week while distributing Nintendo Switch consoles to lawmakers, staff, and anyone else at risk of falling asleep mid-hearing.

“Tax policy can be as dry as unbuttered toast,” admitted AED President and CEO Brian P. McGuire. “But we know Congress is more likely to remember bonus depreciation if they’re also battling Bowser in Mario Kart.”

Power-Ups for Pro-Growth Policies

AED’s presentation focused on five key tax provisions, all aimed at supporting economic growth and job creation in the equipment industry. Highlights included:

• Permanently reinstating 100% bonus depreciation (because nothing says fun like incentivized capital investments).

• Securing the 199A pass-through deduction (described by one lawmaker as "the Rainbow Road of tax policy").

• Protecting business interest deductibility (a tax break as sweet as unlocking the golden mushroom).

• Maintaining estate tax exemptions (so you can pass your equipment empire to your kids without a game-over screen).

• Addressing the Highway Trust Fund shortfall (because crumbling infrastructure isn’t as exciting as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom).

  

  AED LOGO

Lawmakers Fully Plugged In

While AED’s tax priorities were serious, the mood in the hearing room was notably lighter thanks to the hum of handheld consoles and the occasional triumphant shout of “Blue shell!”

Committee members, including notoriously skeptical Rep. Steve Johnson (R-KS), were seen battling AED representatives in Super Smash Bros. between debates on the Highway Trust Fund. “I didn’t think I’d care about bonus depreciation,” Johnson admitted, “but then I won a round as Donkey Kong, and now I’m all in.”

Nintendo Switch actually used in making laws in United States.

Tax Code Meets High Score

The innovative approach seems to have worked. By the end of the session, lawmakers not only retained AED’s key messages but also unlocked a shared sense of camaraderie—and possibly a new DLC pack for future hearings.

“AED doesn’t just play the tax game; they level it up,” said one anonymous staffer. “Now, if only the estate tax exemption came with cheat codes.”

As Congress prepares for an expected tax reform debate next year, AED has proven that sometimes the best way to engage lawmakers is to hand them a controller—and maybe a Power-Up Mushroom to keep them going.