Tax Policy - The S Corporation Association

Obama’s Tax Plans Take Shape

President Obama released a 140-page outline of his budget today that reflects his revenue and spending priorities for the next couple of years.

Chief among these is a major change in federal health care policies. As made clear in his speech to Congress the other day, health care reform is first among the several big reforms on the table and his budget sets aside $634 billion of the estimated $1 trillion he plans to spend on the plan.

To raise the $634 billion, Obama calls for: 1) limiting itemized deductions for …

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admin2019-02-06T17:22:35+00:00February 26, 2009|

Estate Tax Fix Poses Threat for Family Businesses

As we have noted, the stars appear to have aligned for a big estate tax compromise later this year, most likely to be focused on freezing the 2009 rules for at least a year. This means the current top tax rate of 45 percent and $3.5 million exclusion will stay the same for a while. But there’s lots of mischief that can take place under those broad levels.

As tax reformers will tell you, the base is just as important in determining your tax burden as the rates.

With that in mind, several S-Corp allies have pointed out legislation introduced by Congressman …

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admin2019-02-06T17:22:35+00:00February 20, 2009|

Estate Tax Compromise Under Development

Looks like Congressional Democrats and President-elect Obama’s economic team are already beginning work on legislation to prevent a full repeal of the estate tax in 2010. The Wall Street Journal reports that President Obama’s plan will come out in February as part of his FY 2010 budget proposal and could be acted on by the House and Senate soon after. As the Journal reports:

The estate tax would be locked in permanently at the rate and exemption levels that took effect this year. That would exempt estates of $3.5 million — $7 …

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admin2019-02-06T17:22:36+00:00January 14, 2009|

Election Impact on S Corporations

We’ll write more about the election in coming months, but wanted to send out a quick summary of how the elections yesterday affect the S corporation community.

We’ve noted several times that President-elect Obama’s tax policies are not friendly to flow-through businesses. The combination of higher tax rates and a broader base has the potential to significantly increase the marginal and effective tax rates paid by S corporations.

One factor that may retard the push towards higher rates is the weakening economy. Now that the credit crisis appears to be under control, investors and businesses are faced with a classic cyclical slowdown …

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admin2019-02-06T17:22:36+00:00November 5, 2008|

S Corp Champions Push BIG Relief

As Congress moves forward on the stimulus bill, the S Corporation Association continues to push Built-In Gains tax relief as a vital part of the package. If the economy is suffering from a lack of capital, BIG relief can help S corporations access capital currently locked-in by punitive tax rates.

As part of that effort, S-Corp allies Senators Lincoln (D-AR), Hatch (R-UT), Cardin (D-MD), and Snowe (R-ME) sent Senate leadership a letter today advocating for including BIG relief in the stimulus package. Their letter states:

Our proposal, as included in the S Corporation Modernization …

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admin2019-02-06T17:22:36+00:00October 29, 2008|