Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  A small business tax credit to employers who hire new workers and a temporary payroll tax holiday were among tax incentive ideas discussed at a White House jobs summit on December 3. President Obama said he will speak in greater detail the week of December 7 on several new job creation ideas, including tax-cut proposals. He is scheduled to make a speech on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., on December 8.

  At a breakout session on small business job growth, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the administration is open to ideas to extend or modify existing tax cuts and new tax incentives. One participant criticized a payroll tax holiday, saying it was too broad-based, and that targeted tax incentives would be more effective.

  The White House summit invited representatives from small business, large firms, labor, community lenders and economists to discuss regulatory, financial and tax measures that could create new jobs. Breakout sessions addressed energy, trade, small business and infrastructure jobs. With respect to energy jobs, the president stressed the job potential of green technology but also noted that the price of carbon must be determined first before the administration can "make a big push" on green jobs.

  The president, in opening remarks, emphasized that the private sector is the ultimate engine of job creation, although the federal government plays a critical role in establishing the conditions for economic growth. Obama said that the measurement of a real economic recovery is when the private sector begins to invest again. "Only when our businesses start hiring again and people start spending again and families start seeing improvement in their own lives again that we're going to have the kind of economy that we want, "he noted.

Grassley Introduced Jobs Bill

  Senate Finance Committee ranking member Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, seized the occasion to introduce what he termed a jobs bill. The Clean Renewable Energy Advancement Tax Extension Jobs (CREATE Jobs) Bill of 2009 would extend the tax credit for the production of electricity from wind and open-loop biomass through December 31, 2016. The legislation would also increase the amount of bond authority for new clean renewable energy bonds. Such bonds are used to finance facilities that generate electricity from wind, closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, marine renewable and municipal trash combustion facilities.

  In addition, the proposed legislation extends bonus depreciation for one year. The current 50-percent first-year bonus depreciation allowance expires at the end of 2009.

  " Green energy is a real bright spot in our economic future," Grassley said. "We need to keep up the momentum for job creation, a clean environment, and energy independence. Getting these tax incentives extended is important to help businesses secure the loans they need to make the investments necessary to create jobs."

  By Jeff Carlson and Paula Cruickshank, CCH News Staff

SFC Press Release: Grassley Continues Push for Job Creation With Bill to Extend Renewable Energy, Key Business Tax Incentives