Senate Passes Bailout Legislation Complete With Obscure Tax Breaks

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Wired Blog Network

Congratulations taxpayers! Your senators have ridden to the rescue and approved a piece of legislation that should ungum the credit crunch. In the process, your lawmakers also approved extended tax breaks for the film industry in Puerto Rico, and for the makers of "certain wooden arrows designed for use by children."

I kid you not.

I won't bore you with the details, but if you're interested, the Puerto Rican film industry provision is on page 298 of the massive 400-plus page bill, which the senators approved Wednesday evening to Save Americans.

"The exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children," provision occurs shortly after that.

Those who received income from the settlement of the Exxon Valdez oil spill lawsuit also apparently get a break: They get to treat their proceeds as income from the fishing industry for tax purposes.



Read more: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/senate-passes-b.html

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Why did McCain "I will take my veto pen and I will make them famous" vote yes for this one? I'm for this bailout bill but its no wonder why taxpayers are pissed and this kind of crap pisses them off further when they roll all this crap in to a bill. Ed Schultz is pointing out on his show that the maverick didn't vote against this when he had the chance to have an issue against Obama on this.

"Senators attached a provision repealing a 39-cent excise tax on wooden and fiberglass arrows designed for children to an historic $700 billion bank rescue that is likely to pass tonight. The provision, originally proposed by Oregon senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, will save manufacturers such as Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon, about $200,000 a year.

It's one of dozens of tax breaks benefiting Hollywood producers, stock-car racetrack owners and Virgin Islands rum- makers included in the broader legislation in an effort to win support from House Republicans, whose defection contributed to a rejection of an earlier version of the legislation two days ago on a 228-205 vote. " Bloomberg

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"The Senate has sweetened its $700 billion rescue package for tottering financial companies with tax breaks broad enough to save 20 million people an average $2,000 a year in higher taxes and narrow enough to help a makers of wooden toy bow-and-arrow sets.

The tax relief package has a little something for a lot of people: In addition to adjusting the alternative minimum tax, saving more than 20 million from seeing a big jump in their tax bill next April, it has tax relief for disaster victims and measures to promote renewable energy resources such as wind and solar power. It renews an expired R&D credit, essential to many businesses, and extends individual tax breaks for college tuition and teachers' out-of-pocket expenses.

http://www.statesboro.biz/News/202/Included-in-the-Revised-Bailout-Bill-Wool-Research-Wooden-Arrows-for-Children-Race-Tracks-Rum.aspx

[TwilightGardener]

1. Ron Wyden proposes the wooden-arrow tax break, but then votes NO on the bill? WTF, Ron??

[GinaMaria]

7. Need a list with names and what they added to this bill

Anyone have any idea how to find one or how to compile one? This is beyond disturbing.

[Auggie]

2. Will we ever replace these selfish, bought-and-paid-for bozos?

C'mon America...

WAKE UP!!!

[old mark]

9. NO. They are, after all, politicians, whether red or blue,

and they are all hogs at the trough by definition.
Our Democratic pols talk a better game, but the proof is in the performance, and there they are pretty much the same.\

The really decent ones don't hang out in public bathrooms, don't fuck teenage pages, don't drink themselves blind before sunset and don't steal more than they can carry comfortably. Most of the rest are average ones, and some others are pretty bad.

mark

[Indenturedebtor]

3. *Shakes head, rolls eyes* I do like the Virgin Islands rum thing though

Cruzan rocks! :D

[Sadie5]

4. McCain voted for this

and needs to held accountable, but are you just on a McCain hate kick here and Obama has clean hands and did not vote for this bill. If Obama didn't vote for it then why did he waste his time on CNN all day yesterday talking up the need for this bailout.

[kaygore]

6. I think that both McCain and Obama voted "yea" for it

I could be wrong, but when I checked the roll call, only a couple of Democratic senators voted "no." Teddy Kennedy was not present to vote.

[johnlal]

5. This is just an indication

of how seriously Congress takes this "crisis".

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. FYI the lard was not there on the bill thta the house shot down

many of us said, they will add it now... no choice mostly

So congratulations, we went from a more or less clean and straight bill... to this because peop;e don't get it and are destructive yahoos... Krugman used the right words... detructive yahoos