Bill denying tax breaks for offshoring moves forward — ITFA hotline — Blunt offers anti-carbon tax amendment

With assists from Kelsey Snell and Alex Guillén

BILL DENYING TAX BREAKS FOR OFFSHORING MOVES FORWARD. Our Brian Faler has the story: “A bill denying companies tax breaks associated with moving jobs overseas advanced Wednesday in the Senate, as Democrats ramped up criticism of companies moving offshore to save on taxes. Somewhat surprisingly, Republicans joined Democrats in a 93-7 procedural vote to push forward a bill offering businesses a 20 percent tax credit for expenses associated with moving operations to the U.S. from abroad while simultaneously scotching deductions tied to moves in the other direction. Republicans had called the bill an election-year gimmick.” http://politico.pro/1mFoUwF


And the legislation is sponsored by Montana Democrat John Walsh, who is running for election this year in a heavily Republican state — and is now facing plagiarism allegations over his 2007 master’s thesis from the Army War College. The New York Times has that story: http://nyti.ms/1pc2u7N

ITFA HOTLINE. The waiting game is on to see if any Senators are going to block a short-term patch to keep a ban on taxing internet access alive. Senate leaders hotlined a bill on Tuesday that would keep the ban alive until the end of this year — the only question now is if any Senators will object and block the bill from being approved under unanimous consent. The existing Internet Tax Freedom bill expires on Nov. 1 of this year.

Leadership sources say punting the expiration until the end of the year will give lawmakers more time to negotiate a package that would include both ITFA and the Marketplace Fairness Act that was introduced by Sens. Durbin, Heitkamp, Enzi, Alexander, Collins and Pryor earlier this month. Sen. Wyden is not a fan of the combo bill — he was one of the most vocal opponents of the Marketplace Fairness bill that passed the Senate last year. Stay tuned, we'll be following the state of play on both bills .

IT’S THURSDAY! And your Morning Tax-er was pretty excited to see her UCSB history thesis advisor Prof. Pat Cohen on an episode of “Who Do You Think You Are?” last night: http://bit.ly/1kVA6Wq If you want to talk taxes, you can find me at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ mweinger. As always, please follow @ POLITICOPro and @ Morning_Tax.

HOUSE: Meets at 10 a.m.

SENATE: Convenes at 9:30 a.m.

BLUNT OFFERS ANTI-CARBON TAX AMENDMENT. Via Morning Energy, Sen. Roy Blunt will offer an anti-carbon tax amendment to a Senate bill on the floor targeting tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas. The amendment would require three-fifths of the Senate approve any “Federal tax or fee imposed on carbon emissions from any product or entity that is a direct or indirect source of the emissions.” That would essentially prevent any carbon tax-related legislation from clearing the chamber, given uniform opposition from Republicans and resistance from a number of Democrats. It’s unclear whether the amendment will actually get a vote, or whether the overall bill will actually pass, given opposition from Republican leadership. Amendment text: http://politico.pro/1x2Zyyx

RYAN TO UNVEIL NEW ANTI-POVERTY PLAN. Rep. Paul Ryan has an op-ed out in USA Today previewing the anti-poverty proposal he’ll release today at 9 a.m. at the American Enterprise Institute. “We need to expand opportunity in this country. And to do that, we need Washington to get its act together,” he writes in the piece. “Each year, the federal government spends almost $800 billion on 92 programs to help struggling families. Yet the poverty rate is the highest in a generation. The problem with all these federal programs is that they're fragmented and formulaic. They don't see how people's needs interact. And what's worse, they measure success by how much they spend, not how much good they do. Instead, we need to measure success by results — that is, by how many people we're helping get out of poverty.” Read on: http://usat.ly/1pId5ce

FIVE QUESTIONS: IRS LOST EMAILS. In case you’re confused about the IRS lost emails saga, our Rachael Bade breaks down the five big questions here: http://politi.co/1nkk4Kv

GAO: TOO EARLY TO DRAW OBAMACARE FRAUD CONCLUSIONS. “It’s too early to draw conclusions about fraud in the Obamacare marketplaces, a congressional investigator said at hearing focused on a report finding 11 out of 12 fake applicants were able to obtain subsidized health insurance. Republicans jumped on the report as proof that the health care law invites fraud, but the Government Accountability Office official said the sample is too small and investigators ‘can’t draw any conclusions’ until their work is complete.” Read the rest of your host’s report here: http://politi.co/1pLeZZD

SENATORS LOOK TO PASS ABLE ACT AFTER RECESS. POLITICOPro’s Allie Grasgreen reports that “another piece of education legislation might make it to President Obama’s desk this year: the ABLE Act, which would allow parents of a children with disabilities to set up tax-free savings accounts to pay for long-term care. … The bill would amend Section 529 of the IRS Code to allow for the tax-free accounts to cover expenses like education, housing, medical and transportation.”

** Presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co.: According to Federal Reserve Board, 54 million low-income Americans do not have credit scores. A recent government study from the found that low-income families on average spend $2,412 a year on fees for alternative financial solutions like payday lenders and check cashers. Increasing access to the financial mainstream provides hard working people with new opportunities and boosts the national economy to provide foundations for a stronger future. See how one organization is paving the way for that access: http://politi.co/1qretnM **

WARNER ASKS ADMINISTRATION TO AGAIN DELAY EMPLOYER MANDATE. POLITICOPro’s Paige Winfield Cunningham reports that Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is asking the Obama administration to either quickly make ACA regulations on employers less burdensome or postpone the employer mandate for another year. In a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Warner said that the department hasn’t yet given businesses all the information they need to comply with the mandate and that he's especially worried smaller businesses don’t realize the “magnitude” of new information they must collect and report to the IRS.

FIRST LOOK: LAFFER ONLINE SALES TAX VIDEO SERIES, THE NEXT EPISODE. The Alliance for Main Street Fairness will today release the next video in its Art Laffer e-fairness series: “We shouldn’t separate different industries, different types of sales, and protect them from, from other treatment that other people have to do. Should have a low rate, flat tax that applies to everyone. And then let, may the best win. I mean, that’s what it should be done. … Internet sales should not be favored over brick and mortar sales. All sales should be treated evenly,” he says in the clip. http://bit.ly/1r9DTDm

NEXT WEEK: HEARING ON DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF CAMP’S TAX REFORM PLAN. Rep. Pat Tiberi has announced that the subcommittee on select revenue measures will hold a hearing on dynamic analysis of the discussion draft of Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp’s tax reform plan next Wednesday at 10 a.m. From the press release: “Specifically, the Subcommittee will review dynamic analyses of the macroeconomic effects of the draft conducted by outside economists, the role of dynamic analysis in assessing tax reform proposals, how dynamic analysis can provide recommendations to strengthen the draft, and recommendations for improving the availability and use of dynamic analysis.”

TREASURY RELEASES MONEY MARKET FUND TAX GUIDANCE. POLITICOPro’s Patrick Temple-West reports, “The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved long awaited rules for money market mutual funds, focusing attention now on whether the new restrictions go far enough to satisfy fellow regulators who earlier endorsed a more aggressive approach. The rules for the $2.6 trillion industry, which are set to go into effect in 2016, would require institutional ‘prime’ funds serving corporations to float their share prices. The rules would additionally impose restrictions on institutional and retail investors who want to withdraw their investments during times of financial stress.” http://politico.pro/1sUfjuf

GOSAR GIVES IRS A SHOUTOUT — WHILE TALKING ABOUT FISH HATCHERIES. Rep. Paul Gosar took a moment to knock the IRS yesterday while discussing his bill about fish hatcheries at a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing. Spurred by the Fish and Wildlife Service official who had been talking about rebuilding trust before the panel, Gosar said: "You know, it's getting a little old, between the IRS and the Interior Department and now the Fish and Wildlife Service. Trust is a serious promise to be kept, and there is no trust whatsoever in the government.” (h/t Greenwire’s Jessica Estepa)

TWEETS OF THE DAY. Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist: “On set for ‘Alpha House.’ Make up and hair done. Sitting in my dressing room in a trailer parked on the street outside the set in Queens. … Today's shoot for this fall's ‘Alpha House’ is done. No flubbed lines. Hit all marks. Not exactly a second career, but I ‘didn't suck.’”

QUICK LINKS:

—The New York Times’ DealBook: “UBS Being Investigated in France Over Tax Evasion.” http://nyti.ms/1awAzi5

—Bloomberg: “Record Student-Loan Debt Prompts Treasury Push to Stem Defaults.” http://bloom.bg/1pIPHvl

—Robert Samuelson in The Washington Post: “Making corporate tax dodgers patriotic.” http://wapo.st/1ugE1q3

—The News Journal: “Corporate moves overseas concern Delaware officials.” http://delonline.us/1rveUfO

—AP: “NC Senate gives initial OK to sales-tax changes.” http://bit.ly/WDOPA2

—FT: “Luxembourg tax regime: Under siege.” http://on.ft.com/1rvXlvY

—Reuters: “San Francisco approves soda tax for November ballot.” http://reut.rs/1rN0uqm

—Federal News Radio: “IRS scandal teaches agencies to archive.” http://bit.ly/1kcNlqQ

—Los Angeles Times: “California loses nearly $2 billion in 'runaway projects,' report says.” http://lat.ms/1rMipxz

—Bloomberg: “Rubio, Ryan and Paul Looking to Expand Republican Base.” http://bloom.bg/1x4lppm

—The Oregonian: “Merkley vs. Wehby on the issues: Taxes.” http://bit.ly/WDN4CM

—Kelly Philips writes in Forbes: “Holy Taxation, Batman! Remembering Batman's Tax Villain.” http://onforb.es/WDOZY8

DID YOU KNOW? Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Rachael Bade ( [email protected]), Kim Dixon ( [email protected]), Brian Faler ( [email protected]), Kelsey Snell ( [email protected]) and Mackenzie Weinger ( [email protected]).

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