Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

CCH's Tax Briefing analyzing tax law changes made by the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007 (HR 3996), Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 (HR 3648), Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (HR 6; P.L. 110-140), and several other measures, is now available. In a flurry of last-minute voting, the House and Senate passed a number of bills that impact the Internal Revenue Code, including:
(1) The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (HR 6; P.L. 110-140) was passed by both the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007 (TAXDAY, 2007/12/20, W.1). The original bill's tax title was dropped, but the Act contains two tax provisions: an extension of the additional 0.2 percent FUTA surtax to sunset December 31, 2008, and seven-year amortization of certain geological costs of certain oil companies.
(2) The Virginia Tech Victims and Family Assistance Act (HR 4118; P.L. 110-141) was passed by both the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007 (TAXDAY, 2007/12/20, W.2). The Act excludes from income payments from a special memorial fund to victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy in April 2007.
(3) The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 (HR 3648) was passed by both the House and Senate. President Bush signed the bill into law on December 20, 2007 (TAXDAY, 2007/12/21, W.1). The measure contains approximately six tax provisions, including tax relief for debt forgiveness and mortgage insurance payments.
(4) The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007 (HR 3996) was passed by the House (TAXDAY, 2007/12/20, C.1). The Senate previously passed the measure on December 6, 2007. The measure contains three provisions that are collectively referred to as an AMT patch. President Bush is expected to sign the bill.
(5) The Technical Corrections Act of 2007 (HR 4839) was passed by both the House and Senate (TAXDAY, 2007/12/20, C.1). The language in this bill was originally part of the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007 (HRes 884, HR 3997) (a/k/a the Military Bill). The House and Senate, however, failed to agree on and pass one version of the Military Bill. As a result, the technical corrections were split off into a separate measure. The president is expected to sign the measure. There are approximately 27 provisions impacting nine prior Acts.
(6) The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (HR 2764) was passed by both the House and Senate (TAXDAY, 2007/12/20, C.3). The bill includes the budget for the Treasury Department.
(7) An untitled Senate bill (Sen 2436) was passed by both the House and Senate (TAXDAY, 2007/12/20, C.3). The bill clarifies the term of the IRS Commissioner.
CCH's award-winning Tax Briefing analyses the changes enacted by these new laws. The CCH Tax Briefing can be found at http://tax.cchgroup.com/Tax-Briefings/default.