Tax Policy
McCaskill-Collins: Tax Cuts With a Side of Infrastructure, but Hold the Transit
Congress has already delayed their holiday recess by a week, and members are hoping another delay won't be necessary. Among the yet-unfinished business: an extension of the payroll tax cut. House Speaker John Boehner plans to hold a vote today on his bill, which marries an extension of the payroll tax cut to the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. While expected to sail through the House, such a partisan bill is unlikely to pass the Senate. Enter Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Susan Collins (R-ME).
December 13, 2011
Today Is Decision Time For Local Transit Contests
If you live in Durham County, North Carolina, Montcalm County, Michigan, Cincinnati, Ohio, or anywhere in Washington state, today is Election Day – and you’ve got decisions to make about transit.
November 8, 2011
Will New Infrastructure Funding Survive the Demise of Obama’s Jobs Bill?
Tuesday night, the Senate blocked a vote on the president’s jobs plan. As had been forecast, Republicans voted unanimously against the plan, and they weren't alone: Two Democrats joined them – Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Now it's on to Plan B, which involves breaking up the bill into pieces to be voted on separately.
October 13, 2011
Republicans Have Their Own Plan to Pay for Infrastructure Jobs: Oil Drilling
President Obama has proposed a plan to pay for the American Jobs Act, the $447 billion bill to create 1.9 million jobs, including $50 billion for infrastructure. His "pay-for" plan includes limitations on itemized deductions for the wealthy and the elimination of some tax loopholes for oil and gas companies.
September 30, 2011
Big Oil Lobbies to Keep Its Tax Breaks Off the Table in Debt Talks
Deron Lovaas is the federal transportation policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. This story is cross-posted on his blog.
July 15, 2011
So Many Subsidies for Big Oil, So Little Political Will to End Them
Lisa Margonelli, director of the New America Foundation’s Energy Productivity Initiative, hit the nail on the head on the problem with Congressional action on oil subsidies. Yesterday, she wrote in Politico that ending Exxon's unjustifiable tax breaks would be nice, but there are far more egregious examples of U.S. government handouts to big oil:
May 13, 2011
Republicans Still Swear Drill, Baby, Drill Is the Best Way to Lower Gas Prices
Democrats and Republicans are jockeying for the title of Gas Price Slasher, though neither party has a plan that has any potential to reduce prices. While Democrats propose cutting oil company subsidies, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) has introduced three bills to expand oil drilling, saying that they’ll spur employment in the Gulf and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
May 4, 2011
Transit Riders Keep Same Tax Benefits As Drivers
President Obama is about to sign the controversial tax-cut compromise into law, now that the House and Senate have both voted in favor of the bill. That means the transit benefit extension, hidden inside the $858 billion package, will become law as well.
December 17, 2010
Transit Benefit (Wrapped in Tax Cuts) Clears the Senate
The Senate voted 81-19 to support President Obama’s plan to extend the Bush tax cuts this afternoon. Some of those Senators probably didn’t even realize that they were also voting to extend equal tax benefits for transit commuters, on par with parking credits.
December 15, 2010