from MoveOn-a $5 billion trade fix includes $80B of unnecessary Taxcuts

[papau]

This bill makes a bad situation even worse. During the first three years of the George W. Bush administration, 82 of America's biggest and most profitable companies were able to use elaborate tax shelters to avoid paying ANY income taxes for at least a year.<1> One recent estimate said that these tax shelters are costing U.S. taxpayers $10 to $20 billion annually. <2>

The most profitable companies in the world, like General Electric, grease the wheels with intense lobbying to get these tax breaks. GE didn't pay any income tax in 2001, and got $9.5 billion in tax breaks between 2001 and 2003.<3> GE lobbyists had two provisions inserted into this bill which will save them hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes over the next few years. Last year, GE spent $7.5 million to lobby congress, and was one of the 10 biggest corporate contributors to members of Congress. <4>

Right now, our laws actually encourage this kind of behavior from corporate America. There was a chance to fix this problem -- and the bill actually does close a few of these loopholes. Unfortunately, it leaves others open, adds in a few new ones, and throws in billions in extra pork barrel projects for good measure.

The Republican members of Congress who wrote the final bill are showing that they value corporate profits more than people:

* They blocked attempts to close the biggest corporate tax
shelters, costing the rest of us billions.

* They rejected an effort to stop the Bush administration from
taking away overtime pay from 8 million American working families.

* They're spending $10 billion to buy out tobacco farmers, but
rejected a bi-partisan deal that would have finally allowed
the FDA to regulate cigarettes.

Tax policy isn't that exciting -- and the special interests want to keep it that way. While the rest of us have been focusing on other important issues, like the mess in Iraq and the presidential election, there's been a feeding frenzy around the Capitol.

"With hundreds of business lobbyists circling the House-Senate negotiations this week, lawmakers inserted so many subtle last-minute changes in wording that it will take weeks if not months for even the most skilled tax experts to identify all the deals that took place," says the New York Times. <5>

P.S.: Newspaper editorial boards don't like this bill either:

Minneapolis Star Tribune:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/561/5019818.html

Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13434-2004Oct6.html

Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2004/10/07/tax_code_conflicts/

Footnotes:

<1> Citizens for Tax Justice: http://www.ctj.org/corpfed04pr.pdf

<2> Martin Sullivan,"Profit Shift Out of U.S. Grows, Costing Treasury $10 Billion or More," Tax Notes magazine, September 28, 2004.

<3> Citizens for Tax Justice: http://www.ctj.org/corpfed04pr.pdf

<4> See this Washington Post article for a revealing look at GE's lobbying on this bill:
"GE Lobbyists Mold Tax Bill", 7/13/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45064-2004Jul12.html

<5> NY Times, "Negotiators Approve Big Tax Cuts for Business", 10/7/04 (registration required)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/07/business/07corptax.html?oref=login

[zbdent]

1. Did they mention the refund checks to corporations

that gave back every cent of $$ that they paid in the Alternative Minimum Taxes since 1987?

[Robert Oak]

2. What is the Bill number and title?

is it H.R. 4520?

this just drives me nuts...
no newspaper, nobody publishes the real bill number and title,ever.

How the hell are people supposed to look it up in Thomas and
write their representatives if you can't find the friggin thing!

To start a grassroots action item of writing/faxing the house, you must
have this information!

[papau]

3. S. 1637 and H.R. 4520 are in Conference

In May, the Senate passed S. 1637, the “Jumpstart Our Business Strength Act,” repealing the FSC/ETI provisions that were ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. In June, the House passed its version of the bill, H.R. 4520: “The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.”

[Robert Oak]

4. right but the new disaster is H.R. 4520 correct?

In other words these amendments and new "special interests"
are in a modified version of this up right now in the house...

So, we need to DU our reps to defeat this bill.

[AndyP]

5. if GE took those tax cuts and created jobs instead

think of how many TENS OF THOUSANDS of people they could have hired. Probably went to the guys at the top making 100 mill a year anyway. :puke: