Washington, DC - Republicans in the House of Representatives today defeated legislation that would have provided nearly $20 billion in tax relief to small businesses and closed loopholes that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas. The measure, H.R. 5982, would have eliminated an information reporting requirement for businesses that the independent Taxpayer Advocate recently indicated could pose potential “administrative challenges to taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)."
The reporting requirement is not currently in place, it is scheduled to take effect in 2012. Eliminating the reporting requirement would remove this potential burden from small businesses permanently.
“Republicans had a choice - stand up for small businesses and provide this tax relief, or continue to protect loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas," said Ways and Means Chairman Sander M. Levin (D-MI). “By defeating this bill, Republicans made clear that they care more about some companies that ship jobs overseas than small businesses that face a potential burden by this reporting requirement. Despite all of their rhetoric about the need to eliminate this reporting requirement, Republicans walked away from small businesses when it mattered most."
The Small Business Tax Relief Act received the support of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).R. 5982 including text, summary and estimated revenue effects of the proposals provided by the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation.
