Business Lobbyists voice concerns with Bush Tax Advisory Panel's proposals

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Business groups battle to save perks

Lobbyists voice concerns with panel's proposals

By Ryan J. Donmoyer
Bloomberg News
Posted October 23 2005

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-sbtaxes23oct23,0,1446642.story?coll=sfla-business-front

Even before President Bush's tax advisory panel has put its proposals on paper, business lobbying groups are fighting recommendations that may threaten their special breaks.

Within hours of the panel's Oct. 18 announcement of two proposals to rewrite current law, the National Association of Realtors protested proposed limits on mortgage interest deductions. The American Council of Life Insurers complained that plans to expand untaxed savings accounts would erode tax advantages of their products, such as annuities. And the National Retail Federation said one of the proposals would cause the price of imported goods to spike.

"The groups that would be opposed are strong enough to derail this," former Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Donald Alexander, now a partner with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld in Washington, said of the panel's plan.

One of the two plans embraced by the tax panel would simplify the existing income tax system; the other would replace it with a modified flat tax. Both would eliminate many popular deductions, sharply reduce levies on investment income and fundamentally reorder business tax rules. The interest groups that are mobilizing against the proposals have a successful record of defending their tax status and have powerful allies in Congress. They collectively contributed more than $74 million to legislators' campaigns in the 2004 election, according to public disclosure filings analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based campaign-finance research group.

[sarcasmo]

1. Do away with the lobbyists and it will do away with a lot of

Corruption.

[napi21]

2. Now, lets see just who has the REAL POWER in Wash.

I think one of their best recommendations is the elimination of thousands of special business tax loopholes. And SURE the lobbiests are going to scream!

Lets see what happens when Shrub gets to make his proposals, and what Congress does with them.

It's a tough battle for Congress. If you vote in favor or the wishes of the lobbyists, you lose $$ (maybe). If you against the lobbyist, you lose the vote of the public (maybe).

This isn't going to be a quick vote so it will tread very cloe to the 2006 campaigns.


Hmmmm....

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. I thought Bush was pro business

Aren't the realtors and retailers big enough to be of concern to him? Or is this flat tax junk another neo-con ideal that must be met?

[SoCalDemocrat]

4. Who cares? The entire panel is a joke

That entire panel is a joke and so are their proposed changes.

Both plans are intented to eliminate the AMT. Who ever said we needed to eliminate the AMT? It was designed so we could ensure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes, especially wealthy individuals and corporations.

This so called panel is doing two things.

#1 Shifting the tax burden onto blue states disproportionately
#2 Eliminating the AMT to benefit wealthy individuials and corporations

The real quesiton we need to be asking is WHY? Why does it need reform in the first place? Why is the AMT being scrapped as it's abou to go into full effect?