Last year, the Senate waited until just over two weeks left in the calendar year to pass a bill that extended certain tax provisions through December 31, 2014 (retroactive to January 1, 2014).
In contrast, this year it felt like Congress was getting a jump on things when they began contemplating a tax extender package in July. Granted, it was still seven months behind schedule (remember, these are tax provisions which expired at the end of 2014) but there was promise.
By promise, I meant wishful thinking.
Two months later, we’re no further along than we were before. Tax provisions which expired at the end of 2014 remain expired – and they’re joined by a slew of other provisions which will be expiring at the end of 2015. The “now you see them, now you don’t” tax provisions remain in limbo.
Today, the Broad Tax Extenders Coalition sent a letter to members of Congress asking them to “act immediately” to either extend or make permanent those tax provisions. The letter stated:
The undersigned organizations, representing millions of individuals, employees, businesses of all sizes, community development organizations and non-profit organizations, urge Congress to act immediately on a seamless, multiyear or permanent extension of the expired and expiring tax provisions, including appropriate enhancements. These tax provisions are critically important to U.S. jobs and the broader economy.
Failure to extend these provisions is a tax increase. It will inject instability and uncertainty into the economy and weaken confidence in the employment marketplace. Acting promptly on this matter will provide important predictability necessary for economic growth.
The expired provisions should be renewed as soon as possible this year. We urge all members of Congress to work together to extend seamlessly on a multiyear basis, and where possible enhance or make permanent, these important tax provisions.
The letter was signed by over 2000 organizations, representing a cross section of industries including tax and accounting (Grant Thornton & Intuit Inc.), health care (Aetna Inc.), retail and clothing (Aeropostale & Macy’s, Inc.), restaurants (McDonald’s, Starbucks Coffee Company & Red Lobster), heavy equipment (Caterpillar Inc.), banking (Bank of America), pharma (Eli Lilly and Company & GlaxoSmithKline) and tech (Cisco Systems, Inc. & Intel Corporation).
You can see all 2000+ signatures here (downloads as a pdf).
