H.R. 6049, “The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act, among other things, reduces taxes on lawyers with an offsetting increase in taxes on investment managers and corporations.” To the tune of $1.6 billion, literally transferred from the productive sectors of the economy to the parasitic sector. Carter Wood and Marc Hodak comment; Bush threatens a veto. (Separately, don’t miss Marc Hodak’s comments on Ted Kennedy’s glioma.)
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[…] Pork, Taxes. trackback The House bill for “Renewable Energy and Job Creation” gives trial lawyers a massive tax break with an offset to balance the break on investors and corpora…. Because nobody does more to keep our society productive than trial lawyers, […]
Not a tax break. Allows lawyers to take as an expense his costs the year he incurs his costs, as opposed to two to three years later when case settles, tries or appellate court rules. Most other businesses operate in this manner.
Most other businesses operate in this manner.
Well, that’s simply not true. Most other businesses are only allowed to amortize expenses over the life of the investment.
Senator McCain’s proposal to permit productive businesses to deduct investment expenses the year the cost is incurred has been blocked by Democrats—who are apparently willing to grant that tax benefit to trial lawyers, at a cost of $1.6 billion to the Treasury. Sure sounds like a tax break to me when trial lawyers get tax advantages that other businesses do not.