We retired Tax Justice Blog in April 2017. For new content on issues related to tax justice, go to www.justtaxesblog.org
The 113th Congress concluded by passing a $42 billion, deficit-financed tax extender bill that mostly benefits businesses. CTJ’s director Robert McIntyre’s op-ed in The Hill argues that the tax package illustrates how savvy lawmakers can enact legislation that has almost no support from the general public.
“These temporary tax provisions are a caricature of legislative backroom dealing and corporate influence. They include a tax credit for “research” defined so loosely that it includes the development of machines by Chili’s to replace staff in their kitchens and the development of new flavors by Pepsi. They include the “active financing exception,” a tax break for the offshore lending done by companies such as General Electric, a superstar at dodging taxes even by the standards of corporate America.”