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| October 2nd, 2008 |
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Media Contact(s): Mark Eddington, 202-224-5251 |
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Printable Version |
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UTAH FAMILIES, BUSINESSES BENEFIT FROM ADOPTION OF ECONOMIC STABILIZATION PACKAGE
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WASHINGTON – For families and businesses in Utah, the Economic Stabilization Package the Senate adopted this week represents an investment in their future.
A major reason is the tax extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief that was included in the legislation at the insistence of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and other Senate Republicans.
“By including those two important provisions, the bill was changed from a stop-gap measure to prevent an economic meltdown into an engine that can actually help get the economy in Utah and the nation moving,” Hatch said. “The tax extenders in the package would extend expired and expiring tax incentives that act as spark plugs in firing up the economy.
“Businesses and individuals depend on these tax incentives to invest in the research and technology that creates jobs,” Hatch continued. “Innovation is the lifeblood of our economy, and increasing growth directly affects not just jobs, but also retirement savings and even health care costs.
One example in the bill is the energy incentives for solar and wind, which are predicted to create more than 116,000 jobs. Equally important, the senator said, is the fact that the legislation increases exemption thresholds to shelter 23 million Americans, including hundreds of thousands in Utah, from the onerous and unfair Alternative Minimum Tax for 2008.
“This bill will help mainstream Americans who stand to lose unless the government steps in and acts aggressively and responsibly to build confidence in the economy and ease the credit crunch,” Hatch said.
Hatch sponsored or cosponsored provisions in the bill would:
• Extend retroactively the research credit through the end of 2009, a provision that provides incentives for firms to keep their research and development in the U.S.
• Establish new tax credits for plug-in electric hybrid vehicles, ranging from $2,500 to $7,500. These vehicles have the potential to dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
• Extend tax incentives to refineries that significantly increase capacity. This provision will increase U.S. energy independence by lowering the amount of petroleum products the U.S. must import.
• Authorize $800 million of clean, renewable energy bonds to finance facilities that generate electricity from wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, landfill gas, marine renewable and trash combustion facilities.
• Provide $1.5 billion in tax credits for the creation of advanced coal electricity and coal gasification projects that demonstrate the greatest potential for carbon capture and sequestration.
• Extend and strengthen the tax credits for alternative fuels (such as natural gas) and alternative fuel refueling stations. This is particularly important to Utah, which has one of the nation's highest concentrations of natural gas vehicles.
• Extend IRA Rollover provision to the end of 2009 to allow taxpayers to make tax-free contributions from their IRAs to qualified charitable organizations.
• Extend deductions to school teachers for up to $250 for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.
• Extend a provision that allows companies an enhanced charitable deduction for donating books to schools, public libraries and literacy programs. This removes the incentive for companies to merely take excess books to the landfill.
The long fight over passing these provisions was centered on the question of raising taxes to offset the cost of the lost revenue.
"I hope the House will expedite approval of the Stabilization, Tax Extenders, and AMT relief the Senate has overwhelmingly approved,” Hatch said. “It is an important first step in the process of putting the national economy on a sound financial footing.”
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