- Health Care Reform: Majority Leader Reid is still pressing to get the Senate bill finished before Congress leaves for the New Year. He still might make it, but the odds against him are climbing rapidly.
- Government Funding: Congress passed a batch of spending bills — termed the “ minibus” — this weekend, leaving just the Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations bill to be done. DoD was held back to carry other items with it, potentially including a debt ceiling increase, extension of unemployment benefits, short term estate tax extension, and tax extenders. The DoD bill is definitely a “must-pass,” but that’s a long and heavy list. Look for DoD to pass with less on board rather than more. The House Rules Committee could move to this legislation as early as today.
- Debt Limit: The government will run out of room under the debt ceiling to continue borrowing in the next couple of weeks. Treasury has the ability to make additional room available, but it is an ugly process that undermines our financial credibility. With the government borrowing record amounts each week, the debt ceiling will have to be raised, possibly with a small increase that would be revisited later next year.
- Deficit Reduction Commission: Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and 10 colleagues have indicated they would oppose a debt ceiling increase unless it’s accompanied by the creation of a bipartisan deficit reduction commission whose recommendations would be brought straight to the Senate floor. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus vehemently opposes this idea. Speaker Pelosi does too.
- COBRA & Unemployment: Funding for extended benefits runs out soon, as do extended COBRA benefits.
- Tax Extenders: Numerous tax benefits expire at the end of the year, such as the R&D tax credit and the S corp charitable deduction. The Majority would like to move them this week, perhaps on the DoD bill, but not everyone agrees, and extenders could end up being retroactively extended, yet again, early next year.
- Estate Tax: See below. Very unlikely anything moves this year.
The Washington Post reported this morning that the House “ will move the year’s final must-pass piece of legislation without a long-term increase to the national debt and without a large boost in infrastructure funding that was aimed at creating jobs.” Meanwhile, Politico reports that UI and a one-year extension of 2009 estate tax rules now look like they are part of the bill.
Bottom Line: It’s a long list and just how it all gets resolved is anybody’s guess.
More on Estate Tax
The image of a train wreck comes to mind when viewing the prospects for moving some sort of estate tax solution in the next couple weeks.
Absent legislation, the estate tax disappears next year and is replaced with a capital gains tax imposed on appreciated property when the assets are actually sold. It’s more humane and workable than the current estate tax — no valuation issues, no liquidity issues, no taxes imposed when somebody dies — but it’s also not long for this world.
Estate tax repeal is only good for one year and then the estate tax returns in full force in 2011 with a 55 percent top rate and a $1 million exemption.
This makes the current delay and stalemate over some sort of permanent solution all the more inexplicable and troubling. Everybody knew it was coming. Everybody knew Congress would need to take action if they wanted to do something permanent. And yet, here we are with just three weeks left in the year and no real plan for action.
The current approach would attach the estate tax and several other process orphans onto to the last remaining spending bill that needs to get done this year — the DoD Appropriations bill. Also riding on DoD Appropriations will be an increase in the debt ceiling and several other “ must pass” items. At some point, all those items could weigh the bill down and prevent its adoption.
Another option being considered is a temporary extension in the current estate tax rules. As Dow Jones reports:
“Obviously, the defense bill is the one remaining appropriation bill and one remaining conference report that will need to be passed before we adjourn for the year,” Hoyer said in a Friday press conference. Adding a temporary estate-tax measure to the bill “is an option,” he said.
“ Temporary” could mean several things here, but it’s possible that it might mean a multi-month — not multi-year — extension of the current rules, kicking this issue into 2010. Just how that would appease folks, including Senators Lincoln (D-AR) and Kyl (R-AZ) who would like to see something better than the current rules, is unclear.
Some advocates in the estate tax world argued for having the tax expire next year, arguing that anti-tax members would have more leverage with the tax repealed than otherwise. We’re not sure we agree, but it looks increasingly likely that we’re about to find out.
Rep. Hare Introduces S Corporation Donation Legislation
Companies that donate excess inventory or equipment to charity are allowed to deduct up to twice the basis of the item (not more than the retail value) — but only if they are a C corporation. S corporations need not apply.
Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL) has introduced legislation to fix this disparity. The bill (H.R. 4069) would extend section 170 tax benefits to S corporations, ensuring they also have an incentive to donate items to schools and charities. As your S-CORP team wrote to Congressman Hare:
Now, more than ever, America’s charities are in need of assistance. They are being asked to serve more individuals with fewer resources. In 2008, the United Way saw a 68 percent increase in demand for basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. Your legislation would help fill this gap by making S corporations eligible for section 170.
The 111th Congress is half over, but the tax-writing community understands there are numerous tax bills on the horizon that Congress will need to debate and send to the President. Legislation like H.R. 4069 is an excellent candidate to be part of those bills, and we will be working to make sure it is.