Changes to the bill
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The revised "emergency" legislation includes a variety of tax breaks worth billions of dollars with the hopes of garnering more support from lawmakers. Among the provisions, the bill would:
Lift a 39-cent excise tax on wooden arrows made from natural wood. The provision, backed by Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith of Orgegon, is set to benefit Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Ore., among others. Overall it is estimated to cost taxpayers $2 million in lost revenue over 10 years.
Extend a tax break for racetrack owners that would allow them to deduct from their tax returns construction costs for parking lots, grandstands, and concessions - a measure that could cost the taxpayers $100 million in revenue through the end of 2009. It has been pushed since last year by Representative Mike Thompson, a Democrat of California, who voted against the bailout package on Monday.
Extend through 2009 a tax rebate on rum imported from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, worth about $192 million, which supporters say is critical to the governments in both US territories. The proceeds "are critical to the fiscal stability of both jurisdictions," Representative Donna M. Christensen, the non-voting delegate from the Virgin Islands, told colleagues in a letter yesterday.
Reestablish for two years a tax credit for companies that conduct research in the United States, worth an estimated $19 billion in lost government revenue. Companies that have benefitted from the provision in the past include
Permit television production companies to fully deduct from their income taxes the production costs in an effort to keep film and television productions in the United States. Representative Diane Watson, a Democrat from California, who voted against the bailout on Monday, has been a longtime supporter of the provision.
SOURCES: US House of Representatives; Emergency Economic Stablization Act of 2008, Taxpayers for Common Sense
