Tax Extenders Almost Here?
Leaders are closing in on a budget. Word has it that we might get news about tax extenders after tonight’s meeting of House Republicans. Speaker Boehner is trying to wrap up business before vacating his seat on Thursday. (more…)
- Published in Federal Legislation
Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2015 – Tax Credits for Offering Apprenticeships
From The Hill yesterday:
A bipartisan group of senators are introducing legislation to create a $5,000 tax credit for employers that provide apprenticeship programs to train workers in high-demand fields.
Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) unveiled the Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2015 on Wednesday
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Senate Hits Procedural Breaks on EXPIRE Act – Hatch and Wyden Working on Solutions
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Latest News on Payroll Tax Cut Extension and WOTC Renewal
I thought you might appreciate the following excerpt from a recent email update I received from WOTC Coalition President Paul Suplizio. Some of this has been reported in the news but Paul’s perspective adds something important. I am re-publishing this with his permission.
In a statement [Monday], Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor said they will no longer require offsets for the $100 billion cost to extend the payroll tax cut to the end of the year, and are preparing a bill that will extend the payroll tax cut separately if the conference reaches no agreement, leaving the conference to continue working on unemployment insurance and Medicare doctors’ payments.
The conference committee is being notified of this new Republican position, which means $100 billion of the total $160 billion cost of the payroll bill would not have to be offset.
The conferees still have time to reach agreement on a total package, but if they don’t the Speaker is free to make the effort to pass a stand-alone bill extending the payroll tax only. This would remove payroll tax as a partisan issue, but the Speaker is likely to need Democratic support because of the roughly ninety Republicans who would not vote to increase the deficit.
Senator Reid is expected to make the extenders part of the bill he has said he will introduce if the conference bogs down. He will have the option to bring it to a vote or attach it to any stand-alone payroll bill that passes the House.
Unemployment compensation and doc fix remain “must do” issues, even if payroll tax is passed separately—thus we continue to work for the tax extenders to be added to HR 3630 in conference.
If $40 billion for tax extenders is added, the total requiring offset would be $100 billion for unemployment insurance, doctors’ fix, and the tax extenders. Democrats are arguing unemployment insurance should not be offset, and a good case can be made for not offsetting the tax extenders.
Comments: The Republican leadership’s concession on not requiring a budget offset to the “cost” of the payroll-tax-cut extension reduces the total amount of offsets needed to pass all of the priority items. One of those priority items is the tax extenders, which will presumably include WOTC.
What this boils down to is that we are likely to at least see legislation soon with tax extenders attached. Whether Congress can pass it, of course, is a separate question. Nothing is certain and the political environment remains volatile.
- Published in Federal Legislation, Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Senate Committee on Finance Holds Hearing on Tax Extenders (Including WOTC)
Parallel to the House-Senate conference on extending the payroll tax cut, the Senate Committee on Finance is holding a special hearing on Tuesday to examine the 50 or more tax extenders that expired in December. The hearing is titled: Extenders and Tax Reform: Seeking Long-Term Solutions.
According to a Monday article in Accounting Today,
At Tuesday’s hearing, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., ranking Republican member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and the witnesses will discuss how best to approach tax extenders in order to create certainty and allow businesses to invest confidently and create jobs.
Witnesses scheduled to testify include Rutgers University economics department chair Rosanne Altshuler, George Mason University senior research fellow Jason J. Fichtner, University of Texas law professor Calvin H. Johnson, and U.S Chamber of Commerce chief tax counsel Caroline L. Harris.
Many of these details can be had on the hearing’s page on Senate Committee on Finance’s website. Click here.
Submit a Statement for the Record (We all should do this now)
You and your organization or business can submit a statement to the committee to get your views into the record. It’s a simple process but there are a few details of protocol that must be observed. The following is copied directly from the Senate website (emphasis added by underlining).
Any individual or organization wanting to present their views for inclusion in the hearing record should submit a typewritten, single-spaced statement, not exceeding 10 pages in length. Title and date of the hearing, and the full name and address of the individual or organization must appear on the first page of the statement. Statements must be received no later than two weeks following the conclusion of the hearing.
Statements should be mailed (not faxed) to:
Senate Committee on Finance
Attn. Editorial and Document Section
Rm. SD-219
Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510-6200b
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WOTC Call to Action – New Developments for WOTC and Tax Extenders
There are new developments in the effort to include WOTC and other tax-extenders in the upcoming payroll tax cut bill. A Senate-House conference is currently negotiating to extend the payroll tax cut, which expires in February.
Paul Suplizio, President of the WOTC Coalition, reports that Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp is “waving off in advance an expected offer from Senator Baucus” to include tax extenders in the bill. Max Baucus is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. (more…)
- Published in Federal Legislation, Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Senators Baucus and Reid — Tax Extenders Should Be Included In Payroll Tax Cut Deal
Negotiations are on again to extend the 2011 payroll tax cut until the end of 2012. The House-Senate Conference met on Tuesday — the first time this year — and the road to an agreement appears rocky. Optimism is alive – but there are also some big disagreements to sort through.
Both sides of the discussion agree that a deal must be made before the end of February when the current 2-month extension expires. (more…)
- Published in Federal Legislation, Work Opportunity Tax Credit
WOTC Extension Must Wait Until 2012
It’s been all over the news. The U. S. House and Senate agreed to pass a 2-month extension of the 2011 payroll tax reduction. Unfortunately, the tax extenders including WOTC, Research and Development and other important tax incentive programs were not included in this hotly contested legislation.
It is clear, however, that the White House and Senate leadership continue to support tax extenders, which are one of the Senate’s top priorities. (more…)
- Published in Federal Legislation, Work Opportunity Tax Credit