Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

President Bush on May 21 vetoed the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (HR 2419), farm legislation that he said failed to achieve program reform or fiscal restraint. Facing a veto override in both chambers of Congress, Bush, in a message to the House, maintained that the bill would unnecessarily subsidize wealthy farmers at a time of record farm income and soaring food prices and "force many businesses to prepay their taxes in order to finance the additional spending" in the measure.
The final package contains $1.7 billion in farm tax relief that is largely paid for by a reduction in the current tax credit for ethanol production. Other revenue offsets include acceleration of certain large corporation estimated tax payments and new limits on excess farm losses. Among the tax relief provisions, the bill includes a cellulosic biofuels credit, endangered species deduction, depreciation for race horses and forest conservation bonds.
The House and Senate passed the bill by veto-proof margins: the House, by a vote of 318 to 106 on May 14 (TAXDAY, 2008/05/15, C.1) and the Senate by a vote of 81 to 15 on May 15 (TAXDAY, 2008/05/16, C.1).
President Bush's criticism that HR 2419 gives too much money to wealthy farmers failed to sway House lawmakers from voting to override his veto of the measure on May 21. House lawmakers voted 316 to 108 to approve the legislation, but an enrollment snafu prevented the measure from being considered by the Senate. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., explained that the farm bill that Bush vetoed was not the measure that Congress passed on May 15 because the enrolled version did not include Title 3. Hoyer met with Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, late on May 21 to determine the appropriate action to fix the farm bill. Rep. David Drier, R-Calif., noted that the latest extension of current farm law, which was included in HR 6051, expires on May 23.
By Stephen K. Cooper and Paula Cruickshank, CCH News Staff.
SFC Release --Baucus: Veto Won't Block Final Farm Bill