Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  Senate leaders from both parties announced on September 16 that they had reached a tentative agreement on a series of tax extenders that would extend dozens of expired and expiring provisions, including incentives for renewable energy, and provide a one-year fix for the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters that he expects to move to the tax extenders before turning to more controversial energy legislation. The Senate could act as quickly as September 17, said Reid.

  According to Reid, the Senate would likely break up the tax extenders into three separate votes if they could not assemble all the provisions into two packages. Under that scenario, the Senate would first address a roughly $18-billion package of energy tax incentives, then a one-year patch for the AMT and, finally, a package of nonenergy tax extenders. Reid said he would immediately send the approved bills to the House.

  While details have not been released, sources indicate that agreement is near on the energy provisions after settling on paying for the renewable energy tax incentives and dropping the most controversial revenue-raiser: an excise tax on crude oil and natural gas derived from the Gulf of Mexico if oil companies did not pay royalties on their leases. A roughly $100-billion package of tax extenders combined with a one-year fix for the AMT is near agreement after negotiators opted not to fully offset the nonenergy-related tax extenders. The AMT patch would not be paid for. A revenue-raising provision that would have delayed until 2019 a more tax favorable implementation of allocation of interest costs for multinational corporations was also dropped.

  Negotiators are also apparently looking into expanding many of the expired tax extenders, especially those aimed at business, by increasing their extensions from one year to two years. "I hope we can work something out with the Republicans to pass the other tax extenders for more than one year," said Reid. "We've got to get away from the one-year deal."

  By Jeff Carlson, CCH News Staff

SFC Release: Baucus, Grassley, Senate Leaders Agree to Move Clean Energy Incentives, Extend Expiring Tax Cuts, Offer Disaster Tax Relief, Protect Millions from Alternative Minimum Tax