[The Non-Euclidean Blog] Corporate Estimated Tax Shift Act of 2009

[NEB]

Legislation: H.J.Res. 56: Corporate Estimated Tax Shift Act of 2009
Sponsor: Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Introduced: June 4, 2009
Enacted: July 28, 2009

President Obama has enacted legislation to extend sanctions on the Myanmar military junta for another three years, to extend the collection of certain customs duties, and to alter the corporate tax collection schedule.

The bill started out solely as an extension of punitive sanctions on Myanmar (or Burma). In 1990, the first free elections in three decades put the National Democratic League (NDL) in power. Well, actually, that didn't happen, since the military dictators annulled the election results and kept on trucking--which in their case, means slave labor, forced conscription of children into the military, campaigns against ethnic minorities, the use of rape as a terror tactic, incarceration of pro-democracy activists, and provision of safe haven for the production and distribution of illegal narcotics.

In 2003, President Bush was granted power to ban the importation of any Burmese products, freeze Burmese assets, coordinate visa bans with the European Union, and encourage the rest of the world to follow our lead. Until the Burmese regime stops its abuse and brokers a deal with the NDL to set up a civilian government, we're doing everything we can (short of war) to destroy its economy, wipe out its cash flow, and bottle up its leadership inside the country. H.J.Res. 56 allows President Obama to continue this policy until 2012.

That's the main purpose of the bill. A bit of minor, unrelated revenue business got tacked onto it in the House. First, the authority of the Treasury to collect certain customs fees on boats, trucks, trains, and planes entering the country is extended an extra week into 2018.

Second, corporations holding more than a billion dollars in assets were supposed to pay some of their estimated taxes in advance over the next several years. Also, all corporations (regardless of size) were supposed to get two significant tax deferrals; i.e., they'd have a few extra weeks to pay their taxes, allowing them to leverage their dollars into extra benefit for the company. Both provisions were enacted in 2005 as a measure of corporate tax relief, and both provisions are now repealed.

This is bad for most corporations, which lose tax relief; not great for massive corporations, which lose two huge tax deferrals in exchange for two small savings down the road; and good for the government, which extracts more money from the business community sooner.

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Posted By NEB to The Non-Euclidean Blog at 7/30/2009 12:39:00 PM