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Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (56913)	9/14/2011 7:17:18 AM
From: GROUND ZERO™	1 Recommendation Respond to of 103300

And they blame Bush... what a scam!!! youtube.com; GZ

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (56913)	9/14/2011 12:51:48 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 103300

Debt Panel Focus Pushes Expiring Tax Breaks to Backseat SEPTEMBER 14, 2011, 11:46 A.M. ET By KRISTINA PETERSON http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904060604576570472538819798.html WASHINGTON—Congress's focus this fall on reducing the federal budget deficit may postpone the annual scramble to renew tax breaks for companies' research and development costs, some U.S. banks' overseas business and upgrades to restaurants and retail stores, among other provisions that expire at the end of the year. With Washington lobbyists' and lawmakers' sights locked on the bipartisan congressional panel tasked with reducing the deficit, passing a laundry list of expiring—and sometimes expensive—tax provisions may be a tough sell before the end of 2011. Congress regularly extends many of these expiring provisions, known as "extenders," for just one year at a time, which keeps their official cost limited to a single year. But tax breaks are coming under sharper scrutiny this fall, as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction must figure out a way to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over a decade by late November. Last week, President Barack Obama asked the bipartisan committee to come up with further deficit reductions to pay for his $447 billion jobs plan, which would expand a payroll-tax break scheduled to end this year. Outside of the payroll-tax holiday, however, few of the expiring provisions are likely to get much attention unless they are taken up by the supercommittee, according to congressional aides and policy analysts. "The extenders package stays where it was, which is somewhat to the sidelines of this grand debate we're entering into on the deficit and jobs," said Mel Schwarz, director of tax legislative affairs at Grant Thornton. Tackling these expiring provisions will likely be pushed until 2012, when lawmakers would consider them along with the controversial Bush-era tax cuts, said a Senate aide. The 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts are slated to expire at the end of 2012. Until then, only expiring proposals that get wrapped into the supercommittee's recommendations are likely to advance this year. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said he planned to advise the joint committee to include some extenders in their proposal. "If they don't do it, I think it's important enough that we ought to bring up an extenders bill," separately, he said. Many would like to see lawmakers take action this year on the expiring provisions. The active hearing schedules in the two tax-writing committees suggest that Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R., Mich.) aren't yielding all tax issues to the supercommittee this fall, though both are among its ranks, Mr. Schwarz noted. "Although the package in some instances is enacted on a retroactive basis—as it was last year for 2010—it is preferable to have the package extended before then to provide certainty such that taxpayers can plan their research and development budgets and capital investment plans" for next year, said Marc Gerson, an attorney with Miller Chevalier and a former Ways and Means Committee tax counsel. But it's not uncommon for Congress to take action retroactively, after the tax breaks have officially expired, and many companies are no longer fazed by the delay. "In the R&D world it's been extended so many times, they're pretty used to it," said Dean Zerbe, a former Senate Finance tax counsel, who is now the managing director of Alliantgroup, a firm that helps businesses claim tax breaks. Most expect that many of these popular provisions, particularly the R&D credit, will be extended—eventually. Lawmakers may find it easier to do so when the focus on the budget deficit has ebbed. The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that Mr. Obama's February budget proposal to expand the R&D tax credit would cost almost $88 billion over 10 years, for example. While relief from the alternative minimum tax often propels Congress into action, that measure won't be as problematic this year, since its effect stretches until the end of December and most individuals don't have to file their tax returns until the following April. Last year, Congress renewed the AMT patch in December for the tax year 2010. "You're going to be hearing Christmas carols in 2012 when we finally get around to talking about extenders," Mr. Zerbe predicted.