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Congressman Kind Introduces S Corp Modernization Bill

Just before Congress left for the holiday break, Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI) introduced legislation to help improve the rules under which S corporations operate. The bill, H.R. 4840, is entitled the “S Corporation Modernization Act of 2007″ and was cosponsored by a strong bipartisan set of members, including Representatives Jim Ramstad (R-MN), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Phil English (R-PA), Sam Johnson (R-TX), and Steve Kagen (D-WI).

Congrats to the Kind office for introducing this important legislation and putting together this impressive list of cosponsors. Given that most of our S corporation challenges are tax-related, the fact that six

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2019-02-06T18:43:58+00:00December 20, 2007|

AMT and Other Updates

Just after Thanksgiving, we put together a list of the must-pass items that Congress would turn to in December, including the AMT/Extender package, omnibus spending bill, farm bill, S-CHIP, energy bill, and Medicare Doctors payment legislation.

With just a few hours to go in this congressional session, it looks like many of these items will clear the Congress “in one form or another” and be sent to the President. In just the last day, the two bodies dealt with the omnibus spending bill (including $70 billion to fund the war in Iraq), a six-month extension of doctors’ payments under Medicare and

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2019-02-06T18:43:58+00:00December 19, 2007|

Senate Passes AMT

The United States Senate last evening passed a one-year extension of the so-called AMT patch – a higher AMT exemption to protect 20 million or so taxpayers from being subjected to the AMT on April 15th. This bill did not include any offsets and it did not include any additional extenders, either.

Senate Republicans, as well as some Democrats – including Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus – have observed that, since much of the revenue collected by the AMT is accidental and was not intended by Congress, it is nonsensical to insist that protecting taxpayers from the tax should be offset

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2019-02-06T18:43:58+00:00December 7, 2007|

The End is Near (of the First Session)

Congress returns Monday with lots to do and just three weeks to do it. Here’s the list of must-pass items we’ve identified:

  • AMT Patch
  • Tax Extenders (Including the S Corporation Charitable Provision)
  • S-CHIP Reauthorization
  • All the Spending Bills
  • Increase Doctor Payments under Medicare

That’s enough to fill two months of session, let alone 21 days, but there’s more. In addition to these items that most observers agree must get done, there is also a long list of priorities that the majority would like to address before they go home for the holidays, including an energy bill, an agriculture bill, and more.

How will it all work out?

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2019-02-06T18:43:58+00:00November 28, 2007|

Death of Death Tax Repeal?

Yesterday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on the estate tax resulted in some good theatrics, but little in the way of comfort to those family businesses attempting to plan their way past the tax.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett, the world’s third wealthiest man, was on hand to lend his support to the tax. Mr. Buffett argued that “dynastic wealth” is on the rise, putting lower income Americans at a great disadvantage. The estate tax is necessary, he observed, to help break up these large concentrations of wealth.

Mr. Buffett failed to recognize the impact the tax has on family-owned businesses. Nor did he

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2019-02-06T18:43:59+00:00November 15, 2007|