Hope is dwindling that Congress will reach a budget deal that gives both Democrats and Republicans important policy victories, Accounting Today reported.

As negotiators try to finalize and pass a federal budget before the current Congress ends, Republicans look unable to extend three tax provisions under the Tax Cuts and Job Act (TCJA) of 2017: a write-off for corporate-debt costs, a tax break for capital expenditures and a tax break that allows companies to deduct their research and development costs immediately. In return, Democrats wanted an extension of the Child Tax Credit, which lapsed last year.

The prospects look grim for agreement, Accounting Today reported, as 60 votes are needed in the evenly divided Senate to move any such bill. Congress as a whole is still seeking to complete work on a full spending bill for the 2023 fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. The government is currently operating on a continuing resolution that lasts until Dec. 23.

The next Congress, which convenes in January, will be split between a Republican House and a Democratic Senate, “a recipe for gridlock on tax policies,” according to Accounting Today.

“I want them paired and I'm going to the mat for it,” Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said of his offer to link an extension of the child tax credit with a revived version of the deduction for R&D costs.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a member of the Finance Committee, said that Republicans want tax changes between $40 billion and $50 billion, but Democrats want a child tax credit change that would cost $150 billion in a single year and $450 billion over three years.

"It's a stretch to think there's going to be an agreement," he said.