Chris
01-05-2013, 10:34 AM
More on the bipartisan corruption of our government.
There have been a few very good opinion pieces about the large amount of special-interest goodies in the fiscal-cliff bill. This morning the Wall Street Journal, for instance, had a piece in its Review and Outlook section titled “Crony Capitalist Blowout,” which gave a good summary of all the crony tax credits in the already infamous deal:
In praising Congress’s huge new tax increase, President Obama said Tuesday that “millionaires and billionaires” will finally “pay their fair share.” That is, unless you are a Nascar track owner, a wind-energy company or the owners of StarKist Tuna, among many others who managed to get their taxes reduced in Congress’s New Year celebration.
There’s plenty to lament about the capital and income tax hikes, but the bill’s seedier underside is the $40 billion or so in tax payoffs to every crony capitalist and special pleader with a lobbyist worth his million-dollar salary. Congress and the White House want everyone to ignore this corporate-welfare blowout, so allow us to shine a light on the merriment.
Here is a list of some of the tax credits:
$78 million to retain an accelerated tax write-off for owners of NASCAR tracks
$62 million tax credit for companies operating in American Samoa
$222 million tax rebate for rum distillers
$222 million in accelerated depreciation for businesses located on Indian reservations
$430 million over two years in tax breaks for film and television producers who incur production costs incurred in the United States, with a special bonus if the costs are incurred in economically depressed areas in the United States
$59 million in tax credits for cellulosic biofuels
$2.2 billion in tax credits for biodiesel and “renewable diesel”
$7 million in consumer tax credits for buying plug-in motorcycles
$154 million for the manufacturers of energy-efficient appliances
$650 million in tax credits for builders of energy-efficient homes
$12 billion in wind-energy-production tax credits
@ Cronyism Lives On (http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/336865/cronyism-lives-veronique-de-rugy).
Link to Crony Capitalist Blowout (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323320404578216583921471560.html?m od=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop).
Link to another piece referenced later: How corporate tax credits got in the 'cliff' deal (http://washingtonexaminer.com/tim-carney-how-corporate-tax-credits-got-in-the-cliff-deal/article/2517397#.UOhH0m-7N8H)
There have been a few very good opinion pieces about the large amount of special-interest goodies in the fiscal-cliff bill. This morning the Wall Street Journal, for instance, had a piece in its Review and Outlook section titled “Crony Capitalist Blowout,” which gave a good summary of all the crony tax credits in the already infamous deal:
In praising Congress’s huge new tax increase, President Obama said Tuesday that “millionaires and billionaires” will finally “pay their fair share.” That is, unless you are a Nascar track owner, a wind-energy company or the owners of StarKist Tuna, among many others who managed to get their taxes reduced in Congress’s New Year celebration.
There’s plenty to lament about the capital and income tax hikes, but the bill’s seedier underside is the $40 billion or so in tax payoffs to every crony capitalist and special pleader with a lobbyist worth his million-dollar salary. Congress and the White House want everyone to ignore this corporate-welfare blowout, so allow us to shine a light on the merriment.
Here is a list of some of the tax credits:
$78 million to retain an accelerated tax write-off for owners of NASCAR tracks
$62 million tax credit for companies operating in American Samoa
$222 million tax rebate for rum distillers
$222 million in accelerated depreciation for businesses located on Indian reservations
$430 million over two years in tax breaks for film and television producers who incur production costs incurred in the United States, with a special bonus if the costs are incurred in economically depressed areas in the United States
$59 million in tax credits for cellulosic biofuels
$2.2 billion in tax credits for biodiesel and “renewable diesel”
$7 million in consumer tax credits for buying plug-in motorcycles
$154 million for the manufacturers of energy-efficient appliances
$650 million in tax credits for builders of energy-efficient homes
$12 billion in wind-energy-production tax credits
@ Cronyism Lives On (http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/336865/cronyism-lives-veronique-de-rugy).
Link to Crony Capitalist Blowout (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323320404578216583921471560.html?m od=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop).
Link to another piece referenced later: How corporate tax credits got in the 'cliff' deal (http://washingtonexaminer.com/tim-carney-how-corporate-tax-credits-got-in-the-cliff-deal/article/2517397#.UOhH0m-7N8H)