Dana Albright, a partner at The Beacon Group of Boulder and one of Forbes’ Best-In-State Wealth Advisors (2022–2025), brings a rare blend of experience, empathy, and personalized insight to the families and institutions she serves. In this Q&A, she breaks down the potential impacts of new tax reform, offering clarity on how this sweeping legislation could shape planning and investing for years to come.
What is the new tax reform, and why should everyday investors care about it?
It is a legislative act that extends existing individual and business tax cuts from the Tax Cut and Jobs Act while introducing new tax cuts and tax revenue measures. It includes provisions to increase excise tax on investment income for endowments, which could impact investment decisions and fundraising strategies, and favorable bonus depreciation for corporations. (1)
For the individual investor, it introduces several consumer-facing tax provisions that could affect their financial situation. These include deductions for tips, overtime, child tax credits, car loan interest for US-made vehicles, and enhanced deductions for seniors, which are aimed at middle-income consumers. (2)
Can you break down how the proposed tax cuts would work? Who benefits in the short term?
We expect a slight boost to consumer spending in 2026 from the fiscal bill, but larger drags on spending in 2027 and beyond. Older and higher-income cohorts will benefit most, while spending cuts will negatively impact low-income consumers. We expect the consumer provisions of the bill to add ~15bp to spending in 2026, a relatively small impact compared to drags from trade and immigration policy. Later, as tax cuts expire and spending cuts to Medicaid and other transfers grow, the bill drags on consumption. Deductions for seniors and an increase in the SALT cap should benefit older and high-income consumers, who are not as impacted by spending cuts.
You mentioned that spending cuts would come later—how might that impact individuals who rely on government-backed programs or services?
The bill is expected to have significant impacts on individuals who rely on government-backed programs or services, particularly low-income consumers. The bill includes spending cuts to programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which are likely to negatively affect low-income individuals. Estimates suggest that over 10 million individuals could lose access to federal health insurance due to changes in Medicaid, and 2-3 million could lose access to SNAP benefits. These programs are crucial for low-income citizens, as transfer payments make up a significant portion of their income. Consequently, any reduction in these benefits would be meaningful and could lead to increased financial strain for these people. (3)
From a financial planning perspective, how should investors—whether private individuals or business owners and investors—prepare for this two-phase approach?
Individuals should meet with their financial advisors, financial planners, and tax advisors to understand how the bill personally affects them now and over time. There might be timely actions to take advantage of before certain provisions expire.
Income tax credits for the purchase of qualified energy efficiency property expenditures will expire on December 31, 2025. Additionally, the clean energy income tax credits on the purchase of ‘clean vehicles’ will only be available for certain purchases of new and used electric vehicles through September 30, 2025. Residential solar tax credits, which allowed homeowners to claim 30% of the cost of installing qualifying solar panels, will be eliminated after 2025. (4)
For business owners, investors, and founders, the Qualified Small Business Sales (QSBS) bill changes the holding periods and tax rates while increasing the dollar threshold on qualified sales of business interests. The federal government (and some states) provide an incentive to start U.S.businesses by providing an exclusion from capital gain on the sale of qualified small business stock (“QSBS”). For married individuals filing separate returns, the exclusion is 50% of the otherwise allowable exclusion. This is very impactful for our local community of startup companies, venture capital investors, and owners of qualified small business shares. (5)
Are there specific sectors or asset classes that might respond well—or poorly—to this kind of fiscal shift?
Technology and machinery sectors could be positively impacted and are expecting to see substantial increases in free cash flow due to restored 1005 bonus depreciation and immediate R&D expenses. Additionally, the machinery and construction sectors are expected to benefit from bonus depreciation provisions. The telecom sector is expected to benefit from the cash tax savings, which may be allocated towards stock buybacks, debt reduction, and strategic M&A. However, the impact on valuation is expected to be modest due to the time-related nature of these tax benefits.
To contact The Beacon Group and learn how the new tax reform might affect you, visit Advisor.MorganStanley.com/The-Beacon-Group-of-Boulder.
1 Guerra, Monica, et al. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management | Global Investment Office, 2025, Fiduciaries in Focus | Endowments and Foundations After the OBBBA RSI1753372565869 07/2025
2 “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Signed into Law on July 4, 2025, Makes Significant Tax Changes.” Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Wealth and Estate Planning Strategists, Family Office Resources, July 2025 CRC 4647119 07/2025
3 “OBBBA Cheat Sheet.” US Policy Pulse, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management | Global Investment Office, 14 July 2025.
4 Guerra, Monica, and Daniel Kohen. “A Big Beautiful Guide to the Big Beautiful Bill.” US Policy Pulse, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management| Global Investment Office, 10 July 2025. RSI1752157182388 07/2025
5 “OBBBA Cheat Sheet.” US Policy Pulse, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management | Global Investment Office, 14 July 2025.
*Responses are for informational purposes only and should not be treated as financial advice or direct recommendations for financial products.
Dana Albright is a Financial Advisor/Private Wealth Advisor with the Wealth Management division of Morgan Stanley in Boulder, Colorado. The views expressed herein are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Member SIPC. www.sipc.org. Dana Albright may only transact business in states where she is registered or excluded or exempted from registration Advisor.MorganStanley.com/The-Beacon-Group-of-Boulder. Transacting business, follow-up and individualized responses involving either effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, will not be made to persons in states where Dana Albright is not registered or excluded or exempt from registration. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be appropriate for all investors.
Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors
Source: Forbes.com 2022-2025. Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors ranking awarded in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Each ranking was based on an evaluation process conducted by SHOOK Research LLC (the research company) in partnership with Forbes (the publisher). This evaluation process concluded in June of the previous year the award was issued having commenced in June of the year before that. Neither Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC nor its Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors paid a fee to SHOOK Research LLC to obtain or use the ranking. This ranking is based on in-person and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations, and quantitative criteria, including assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research LLC, and this ranking may not be representative of any one client’s experience. These rankings are not indicative of the Financial Advisor’s future performance. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC is not affiliated with SHOOK Research LLC or Forbes. For more information, see www.SHOOKresearch.com.
This material contains forward looking statements and there can be no guarantees they will come to pass. The information and statistical data contained herein have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but in no way are guaranteed by Morgan Stanley as to accuracy or completeness. There is no guarantee that any investments mentioned will be in each client's portfolio. Because of their narrow focus, sector investments tend to be more volatile than investments that diversify across many sectors and companies.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trusts, estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning , or other legal matters.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. CRC 4719511 08/25