Compliance September 4, 2001

Bush Budget Extends Employer Tax Breaks

April 9, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - President Bush's budget would extend all tax breaks currently scheduled to expire in 2001, including several of key interest to employers.
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The budget, submitted earlier today, opted for short extensions to give the Administration more time to decide which breaks should be extended for longer, or made permanent, according to Dow Jones.

Among the extensions are:

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  • the Work Opportunity tax credit, a benefit for employers that hire certain categories of individuals traditionally hindered from entering the workforce
  • the Welfare-to-Work tax credit
  • employer-provided educational assistance

Other programs impacted are:

  • provisions that protect various tax credits from being reduced or eliminated by the individual Alternative Minimum Tax
  • foreign tax relief for financial institutions
  • relief for marginal oil and gas wells
  • tariff concessions for developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences
  • the Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program for school reconstruction

The cost of extending all eight programs for one additional year would be $1.61 billion in fiscal 2002, which begins Oct. 1, 2001, or $3.41 billion over the coming 10 years (most of the proposed extensions affect revenue beyond the initial year).  However, roughly half that amount is associated with the provision affecting the foreign operations of financial service companies.

– Nevin Adams            editors@plansponsor.com

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