I still say that A is right for the very reason that 1999 tax bill still allowed many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations to deduct on their tax returns and it did not stop what it allowed. Instead 1999 tax bill only changed the way it allowed to deduct tax returns.

The Meaning changes when you say it had been allowed, it implies that it no longer allowed many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations to deduct on their tax returns.

Hope my explanation seems alright.

IMO A.

A 1999 tax bill changed what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations are allowed to deduct on their tax returns.
A) changed what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations are allowed to deduct on their tax returns. -- Correct . Uses 'what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations are allowed to deduct on their tax returns' as an object with 1999 tax bill as a subject. Also retains the meaning
B) changed wealthy taxpayers' and large corporations' amounts that they have been allowed to deduct on their tax returns. ---Awkward and uses possessives in manner that distorts the meaning.
C) is changing wealthy taxpayers' and large corporations' amounts that they have been allowed to deduct on their tax returns. ---Same as B
D) changed what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations had been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.---Improper tense use. Unnecessary use of 'Had been' which changes the meaning too.
E) changes what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations have been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.----- Same as D

Everything is perfectly explained by you except you missed the main point.
"A 1999 tax bill" implies that this statement was made in past. So the sentence should be in past tense. A is wrong for the very reason. D is right because it is in the past. "had been"
E is wrong because it has present tense in "changes"

A, because it retains the intended meaning.As the bill is still in place, so are allowed to dump is correct.
D, Had been changes the meaning, as it implies the law was in place earlier, but we are not too sure about its current status.
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Talking of some bill that changed certain clauses.
So correct verb tense is "changed" A, B and D remains.

D -> had been allowed implies that after the 1999 bill, the tax payers are no longer required to deduct on their tax returns. Wrong as it changes the intended meaning.

A -> Correct as it says that the Bill simply changed some clauses.

Hi,

D does not say that tax payers are no longer required to deduct.
It states that "earlier taxpayers and corporations" had been allowed to do something, and 1999 tax bill brought that change.

I think D should be correct, as usage of had is correct here..

Thanks,
Jai
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a similar questions in og,
"reduce the dumping"

sequence of tenses is here

have done and did happen before do
had done happen before did.

very simple but enough to kill us

i think "had been allowed" means that the amount that they were allowed to deduct was changed from pre 1999 era, it does not mean that the law has been abolished and thus d is correct

it's a general fact. a bill changed smth what people now are allowed. so A works fine.

A) changed what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations are allowed to deduct on their tax returns.
looks good, SV are in proper tenses/forms, pronouns have clear antecedents.

B) changed wealthy taxpayers' and large corporations' amounts that they have been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.
the bill changed what people are allowed to deduct on tax returns, not the amounts. moreover, present perfect tense is not correct. pronoun their has no clear antecedent.

C) is changing wealthy taxpayers' and large corporations' amounts that they have been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.
bill is already in force, so no need for present progressive. they/their have no clear antecedent. same mistake as in B - is changing amounts...

D) changed what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations had been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.
tricky one, was thinking between A and D, but since the bill is still in effect, A is better.

E) changes what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations have been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.
changes - incorrect. have been allowed - not needed

A 1999 tax bill changed what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations are allowed to deduct on their tax returns.

A) changed what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations are allowed to deduct on their tax returns.

correct choice

B) changed wealthy taxpayers' and large corporations' amounts that they have been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.

their refers to amounts instead of tax payers or large corporations.

C) is changing wealthy taxpayers' and large corporations' amounts that they have been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.

year 1999 is in the past and it is not changing now. so verb is is incorrect here.
their refers to amounts as in B

D) changed what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations had been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.

refer this link for further information regarding this trap choice.
http://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2014/04 ... it-sounds/

E) changes what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations have been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.

we cannot use changes just as we cannot use is in option C.
This verb must be in past tense.

I feel that D is right. But why is A right

Is it the tax bill changed the amount of the tax returns?

Sent from my D5503 using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Whatever is mentioned in the question is what I know. But what I understood is the following

People used to deduct from their incomes certain amount. 1999 tax bill --> now it is post 1999 ....so before something else was allowed to be deducted. now something else post 1999 tax bill. so i felt it needs ' had '.
A 1999 tax bill changed what many wealthy taxpayers and large corporations
had been allowed to deduct on their tax returns.

I chose D. Can someone please explain why D is wrong and why A is correct? Thank you

A is right because the Tax payers and other people are still paying the taxes. So, Its a kind of fact which they are doing now also. 1999 act just changed something in their way of making payments.

I have done a similar kind of question in OG. Don't remember what was the question though.
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Official solution from Veritas Prep.

This difficult problem captures how important the concept of “logical time lines” is when considering tense (and the past perfect in particular). The easiest decision point to start with in this problem is the tense of the verb “to change” at the beginning of each answer choice. Since 1999 is in the past, the verb must be “changed”; you can safely eliminate answer choices C and E. Also, the improper diction in “taxpayers’ and corporations’ amounts” is incorrect in answer choice B, so it is relatively easy to get the problem down to two choices: A and D. To determine which one is correct you must think logically: Can a tax bill enacted in 1999 affect what you are allowed to deduct today? Yes! Can a tax bill enacted in 1999 affect what you were allowed to deduct before 1999? No! Answer choice D illogically suggests that the bill changed what people could do before the bill was passed, and that is simply not possible. Even though it might sound a little strange when you first read it, answer choice A is correct. In 1999 a tax bill changed what everyone is allowed to do today.
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abhimahna,

May be you want to mean the following question:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/qotd-a-1972- ... 52000.html
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A very good explanation and a similar question in OG. Now I understand!!

D is incorrect because use of past perfect tense is wrong here. Taxpayers are still paying the taxes.

A past perfect denotes an event/action that is COMPLETED in the past. So, if we say "had been allowed", then it would mean that they were allowed only till a certain time in the past (because of past perfect usage) and not after that, and that the 1999 tax bill changed that. How can a tax bill change something that was already done? This makes D wrong.

Hope this helps!