Home/Tag: Tax Policy

Bailout Watch

The ongoing soap opera of the auto bailout continues, with Congress failing to find a means of balancing the needs of Detroit with the concerns of taxpayers and Senate Republicans. As a result, the bailout stalled in the Senate last week and the Administration appears poised to step in and use whatever authority it has — TARP, Treasury, Fed — to provide the companies with the liquidity necessary to survive into the New Year and the next Administration. A nice little Christmas present for the Obama economic team, indeed.

Whatever happens, what is clear is that the plight of Detroit will

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2019-02-06T17:22:36+00:00December 17, 2008|

Auto Bailout Stalls Stimulus

Congress is back for the week, but we do not expect much to get done. House and Senate Democrats support allocating $25 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to bailout the Big Three automakers, while the White House, Treasury and Congressional Republicans oppose expanding the program.

The auto bailout could be considered as part of a set of a broader economic stimulus package introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). We expect the Senate to take up some or all of the Reid

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2019-02-06T17:22:36+00:00November 19, 2008|

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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2019-02-06T17:22:36+00:00November 5, 2008|

Extenders Advance

Following a series of votes on alternatives, the Senate adopted a $150 billion package of tax extenders yesterday by a vote of 92-5. The key components of the package include:

  • A one year extension of the higher exemption amount under the Alternative Minimum Tax. This provision will prevent about 20 million taxpayers from getting sucked into the AMT when they file their taxes this April.
  • An extension of expired and expiring personal and business tax provisions, including the state sales tax deduction and R&E tax

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2019-02-06T18:06:06+00:00September 24, 2008|

Tax Policy and Small Business

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reviewed the most recent comments by Senator Barack Obama regarding his plans for tax policy.

As we noted in the past, the bias is for higher tax rates beginning sometime in the next Congress. This bias stems from the make-up of Congress and the scheduled expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and exists regardless of who becomes President.

That said, the S corporation community should pay particular attention to some of the proposals put forward by the Obama campaign - specifically, his plan to raise marginal tax rates

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2019-02-06T18:06:07+00:00September 12, 2008|