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201 records in US in 2012
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Electric Vehicle Purchasing Credit Expansion Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for the purchase of new plug-in electric drive motor vehicles, to increase: (1) the per vehicle dollar limitation from $2,500 to $3,750, and (2) the limitation based on battery capacity from $5,000 to $6,250.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Internal Revenue Code to repeal establishment of the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) program through which the Secretary provides loans and grants to foster the creation of qualified nonprofit health insurance issuers to offer qualified health plans in the individual and small group markets. Rescinds unobligated funds made available for the program. Requires repayment of loans provided under the program within two years of their making and sets the interest rate on such loans at the bank prime rate. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for establishment and governance of association health plans (AHPs), which are group health plans whose sponsors are trade, industry, professional, chamber of commerce, or similar business associations, and which meet certain ERISA certification requirements. Allows qualified nonprofit health insurance issuers participating in the CO-OP to sponsor an AHP, if certain requirements are satisfied. Prescribes rules governing AHPs, including requirements relating to certification, sponsors and boards of trustees, participation and coverage, nondiscrimination, contribution rates, notice of voluntary termination, correction actions, and mandatory termination. Establishes the Association Health Plan Fund to be used by the Secretary of Labor to make payments to an insurer to maintain coverage for a plan if there is a reasonable expectation that, without such payments, claims would not be satisfied by reason of termination of coverage. Requires the Secretary to establish a Solvency Standards Working Group. Allows a state to impose a contribution tax on an association health plan that commenced operations in such state after the enactment of this Act. Preempts any state law that may preclude a health insurance issuer from: (1) offering health insurance coverage in connection with a certified AHP; or (2) offering health insurance coverage of the same policy type to other employers operating in the state that are eligible for coverage under such AHPs, whether or not such other employers are participating employers in such plan. Subjects to criminal penalties a person who willfully makes false representations with respect to an AHP.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Manufacturing American Innovation Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer to elect a tax deduction for an amount equal to 71% of the lesser of: (1) the taxpayer's patent box profit, or (2 the taxpayer's taxable income for the taxable year. Defines "patent box profit" to include gross receipts derived from the sale, lease, license, or or other disposition of qualified patent property in the course of a U.S. trade or business over the sum of the taxpayer's cost of goods sold allocable to patent gross receipts, other expenses, losses, or deductions, including research and development expenditures, allocable to such receipts, plus routine profit. Defines "qualified patent" to include a patent issued or extended by, or for which an application is pending before, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Sets forth rules for the application of the patent box profit deduction to pass-thru entities, including partnerships and S corporations, trusts and estates, and agricultural and horticultural cooperatives.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the current requirement that the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) prepare an estimate for a bill or joint resolution of the cost which would be incurred in carrying out such legislation in the fiscal year in which it is to become effective and in each of the 4 ensuing fiscal years. Increases from 4 to 19 the number of ensuing fiscal years. (Thus requires 20-year instead of 5-year CBO cost estimates for legislation.) Makes a conforming amendment to the Rules of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employees of a U.S. contractor working in a foreign country to claim the exclusion from gross income for their income earned in such country even if they are required to depart from such country prior to meeting the foreign country residency requirement for such tax exclusion if their departure was a direct result of: (1) a reduction in the number of personnel serving in a combat zone in such country, (2) a termination of the contract under which the U.S. contractor is performing services in such combat zone, or (3) the termination of their employment with the contractor on account of the reduction of personnel or the termination of the contract.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to provide that provisions of such Act imposing a penalty for failure to purchase minimum essential health care coverage shall not be construed as imposing any tax or as an exercise of any power of Congress under the Constitution to impose a tax. Makes the effective date of the amendment made by this Act retroactive to the enactment date of PPACA.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Build It in America Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make the tax credit for increasing research activities permanent, (2) increase the rate of such tax credit for manufacturers whose adjusted gross receipts attributable to domestic production exceed 50%, and (3) make such credit refundable for certain small businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
STEM Education Opportunity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) individual taxpayers a deduction from gross income for STEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) higher education expenses; and (2) a business-related tax credit for contributions of STEM property (e.g., computer equipment and software, microscopes, and lab equipment), services, and training made to an elementary or secondary school to promote education in the biological sciences, mathematics, earth and physical sciences, computer and information science, engineering, geosciences, and social and behavioral sciences. Defines "STEM higher education expenses" to include any expenses incurred by an individual attending an institution of higher education who is majoring in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to submit to Congress a report detailing: (1) the efficacy of this Act in increasing higher education enrollment in the fields of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology; and (2) any effect this Act has had on the price of higher education tuition in such fields.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Startup Innovation Credit Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a qualified small business, other than a tax-exempt organization, to use a portion of its tax credit for increasing research expenditures as an offset against its payroll tax liability under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). Defines "qualified small business" as a corporation, partnership, or S corporation if the gross receipts of such entity for the taxable year are less than $5 million and such entity did not have gross receipts for any period preceding the 5-year period ending with such taxable year. Limits the amount of the payroll tax credit portion to $250,000 in any taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals who have attained age 60 or are disabled an exemption from income and employment taxes for real property tax abatements received under a state or local program in which such individuals have provided services in exchange for such abatements.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the low-income housing tax credit, to qualify for such credit low-income housing units that are available to individuals who have attained the age of 62 and whose incomes are 140% or less of the income limitation required for occupants of such housing units.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Making College Affordable Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to Coverdell education savings accounts, to: (1) increase the age limit for beneficiaries of such accounts after which contributions may not be made from age 18 to age 26, (2) increase the maximum contribution limit in any taxable year from $2,000 to $10,000, and (3) allow an annual inflation adjustment to the increased contribution limit for taxable years beginning in a calendar year after 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Tax Exemption for American Medalists Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, the value of any medal awarded in, or any prize money received from the U.S. Olympic Committee on account of, competition in the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Death Tax Repeal Act - Repeals the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Commercial Fishing, Farm, and Ranch Risk Management Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a Commercial Fishing, Farm, and Ranch Risk Management Account (CFFR Account) to provide farmers and commercial fisherman with additional capital for investment and to protect against operating losses. Allows a tax deduction for cash contributions to a CFFR Account, limited to 20% of the taxpayer's taxable income attributable to an active farm or commercial fishing business. Imposes a 10% additional tax on amounts in a CFFR Account which are not distributed within 10 years after the establishment of such Account.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Encourages: (1) the people of the United States to respond to all census surveys conducted by the Bureau of the Census; and (2) the Bureau of the Census to provide households and businesses with information regarding the community, economic, and fiscal benefits to be gained from participation in the American Community Survey and the Economic Census, to use the most current methodologies and technologies to reduce the burden of responding to the Census, and to continue to innovate its methods, processes, and products.
United States · United States Senate · 1 August 2012
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Building a Stronger America Act of 2012 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to award renewable three-year competitive industry or sector partnership grants to eligible entities to develop strategies that: (1) encourage growth and competitiveness through work with employers within a targeted industry cluster; (2) help workers move toward economic self-sufficiency and ensure that they have access to supportive services; (3) address the needs of firms with limited human resources or in-house training capacity, including small- and medium-sized firms; and (4) coordinate with entities that carry out state and local workforce investment, economic development, and education activities. Directs the Secretary to establish the Innovation in Investment pilot program to make competitive grants to eligible consortia in certain states with relatively high poverty rates to establish state Innovation in Investment pilot programs to provide training and educational assistance to unemployed individuals, or postsecondary students not seeking a baccalaureate degree, that lead to a degree or industry or professional certification or licensure and eventually to employment. Amends the National Apprenticeship Act to direct the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of Labor, to: (1) increase public awareness of the national apprenticeship system through the dissemination of certain apprenticeship information, and (2) establish a pilot program to expand such system. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a program to award federal grants to states recruiting high-value jobs, that is, those within an eligible facility that contribute to the value of a manufactured product, pay wages higher than the mean hourly U.S. wage, and have North American Industrial Classifications corresponding with: (1) manufacturing, (2) software publishers, (3) computer systems design, or (4) related codes. Allows states to use such grants to issue forgivable loans of $5,000 per full-time equivalent employee to eligible entities deciding whether to locate in a foreign country or the United States to assist them in locating in rural or distressed areas of the state. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that industry-approved certification assessments and standards are established and available to providers of education and training programs in manufacturing and information technology in order to: (1) improve program performance; and (2) ensure that individuals who complete training have the skills to enter high-skill, high-demand occupations in manufacturing and information technology. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the Commissioner responsible for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to initiate, upon petition or a referral from another federal agency, an investigation into claims of evasion of antidumping or countervailing duties (including any cash deposits or other security) with respect to covered merchandise entered into the United States. Prescribes actions for the Commissioner to take in the case of an affirmative preliminary or final determination. Requires the administering authority to apply the highest applicable cash deposit or antidumping or countervailing duty in cases where the producer or exporter of covered merchandise is unknown. Applies the amendments made by this Act to goods from Canada and Mexico. Requires the Commissioner to ensure that CBP employs and assigns sufficient personnel to prevent the entry of covered merchandise in a manner that evades antidumping and countervailing duty orders or findings. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), the Commissioner, and the Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to assess and properly allocate the resources of CBP and ICE to improve efforts to investigate and combat evasion. Directs the Comptroller General to report on: (1) efforts to prevent the entry of certain merchandise into the U.S. customs territory through evasion, and (2) the estimated amount of duties that could not be collected on certain merchandise that entered U.S. customs territory through evasion during FY2010-FY2011 because the Commissioner did not have the authority to reliquidate the entries of such merchandise. Amends the Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an interagency review of U.S. laws and policies on foreign direct investment in the United States and develop recommendations to make the United States more competitive in attracting and retaining strong investment flows from abroad. Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). Requires the TPCC to: (1) identify opportunities to consolidate or co-locate offices of federal agencies involved in export promotion and export financing activities; (2) assess the use and coordination of electronic databases among federal agencies in support of such activities; (3) review the proposed trade promotion fiscal year budget of each federal agency with responsibility for export promotion or export financing activities before it is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the President; and (4) make available, on federal agency websites, including Export.gov, a detailed listing of current and future federal and state-led trade missions, trade fairs, and related export promotion and export financing activities to ensure better delivery of services to U.S. businesses. Requires the governmentwide strategic plan to: (1) identify countries with which the United States could negotiate trade agreements to increase U.S. exports, (2) identify areas in which the TPCC can maximize existing partnerships with agencies by granting the TPCC the ability to partner with other agency partners without requiring an additional memorandum of understanding, (3) review and propose means to improve educational outreach to small- and medium-sized businesses with respect to the resources available through the TPCC and its member agencies, and (4) clearly describe the role of each TPCC member agency and its responsibility for export promotion and export financing. Requires the TPCC to coordinate with TPCC member agencies to publish export promotion and export financing information on the Export.gov website as a single window for export information. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) conduct at least once every five years a global assessment of overseas markets to identify the countries to which the United States could increase U.S. exports, and (2) redeploy U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service personnel and other resources on the basis of that assessment. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require each chief of mission to a foreign country to develop a plan for effective diplomacy to remove or reduce obstacles to exports of U.S. goods and services. Directs the U.S. International Trade Commission to: (1) report biennially to Congress and the President on distortive or discriminatory economic policies of foreign countries, and (2) assess the effects of such policies and practices on U.S. businesses and workers over the next ten years.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, the value of any prize or award won in athletic competition in the Olympic Games.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Better Education and Skills Training for America's Workforce Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax credits for: (1) the qualified training expenses of job trainees who have been unemployed for at least 90 days before enrolling in a training program, that are paid by U.S.-based employers, and (2) investment in a qualified job training partnership between a private business and an institution of higher education or a labor organization. Defines "qualifying training expenses" as an eligible trainee's qualified tuition costs, which may include costs for books and enrollment in a training program at an institution of higher education that may include a single course, multiple courses, or a combination of work training and study and that is reasonably necessary for employment. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a Qualified Job Training Partnership program to consider and award certifications for qualified investments eligible for credits to qualified job training partnerships. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to individuals who make an investment in a qualified job training partnership, in lieu of a tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Water Protection and Reinvestment Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the Water Protection and Reinvestment Trust Fund to support investments in clean water infrastructure. Imposes through 2019 an excise tax on the sale of containers of water-based beverages, water disposal products, and pharmaceutical products and appropriates revenues raised from such taxes to the Trust Fund. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to study and report on potential funding mechanisms and revenue sources for a clean water trust fund. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allocate amounts from the Trust Fund for specified clean water programs, specified grants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act), and other specified activities under this Act. Amends the Clean Water Act to: (1) expand the types of projects eligible for funding by state revolving loan funds; and (2) set forth additional criteria for states in developing priorities for assistance under such Act. Authorizes the Administrator to use Trust Fund amounts: (1) to make grants to ensure the adequate supply of certified wastewater treatment operators, (2) to award scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study by persons who plan to enter an occupation involving the operation and maintenance of treatment works, and (3) for sewer overflow control grants. Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish a national water infrastructure research, development, and demonstration program to develop, demonstrate, and transfer innovative or improved technologies and methods for the treatment, control, transport, and reuse of wastewater; (2) make grants to nonprofit institutions of higher learning to establish and operate one university water research center in each of such 21 hydro-regions and designate one of such centers as the National Water Research Center; (3) enter an arrangement for a National Academy of Sciences study of the means by which public water systems meet the costs associated with operations, maintenance, capital replacement, and regulatory requirements; and (4) establish a program of grants to local and state entities to reduce discharges of harmful pollutants into navigable waters through programs to take back prescription and over-the-counter drugs from the public and dispose of them in an environmentally sound manner. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) establish an education program to inform the public about clean water benefits associated with taxes paid to the Trust Fund, and (2) carry out an innovative financing program to make financial assistance available for projects eligible for funding under water pollution control revolving loan funds.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to: (1) modify the article description of certain cotton shirting fabrics, and (2) extend the temporary duty suspensions on such fabrics. Amends the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 to extend through December 31, 2015, the requirement that the Secretary of the Treasury transfer from the Treasury to the Pima Cotton Trust Fund amounts equal to the duties received in the Treasury from certain imported woven fabrics of cotton since January 1, 2004 (currently, January 1, 1994). Repeals the limitation that pima cotton be grown in the United States from the formula for determination of annual payments to a nationally recognized association established for the promotion of pima cotton as well as to the yarn spinners of pima cotton. Limits the latter payments to yarn spinners of pima cotton that produce ring spun cotton yarns in the United States. Requires annual affidavits from shirting manufacturers and from yarn spinners.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Family Farm and Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from a decedent's gross estate, for estate tax purposes, the adjusted value of qualified farmland and qualified family-owned business interests. Imposes an additional estate tax if, within 10 years after the decedent's death and before the date of the qualified heir's death: (1) qualified farmland ceases to be used for farming purposes or is sold outside of the qualified heir's family; or (2) material participation requirements for a qualified family-owned business interest are not met, the business ceases to be located in the United States, or the business is sold outside the qualified heir's family. Makes permanent estate tax provisions of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Support Working Parents Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the phaseout of the tax credit for dependent care services for taxpayers whose adjusted gross incomes exceed $15,000.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, the value of any prize or award won in athletic competition in the Olympic Games.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Middle Class and Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2012 - Makes provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) permanent for taxpayers whose adjusted gross incomes do not exceed a specified base amount (i.e., $200,000 for individual taxpayers and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly). Revises income tax rates to increase to 39.6% the maximum income tax rate for taxpayers whose incomes exceed the base amount. Makes provisions of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 that reduce the tax rate on dividend and capital gains income for taxpayers whose incomes do not exceed the base amount permanent. Increases to 20% the tax rate on dividend and capital gains income for taxpayers whose incomes are above the base amount. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend for an additional year: (1) the increased Hope Scholarship tax credit (designated as the American Opportunity Tax Credit), (2) the increase in the refundable portion of the child tax credit, (3) the increased percentage of the earned income tax credit for taxpayers with three or more qualifying children, (4) the disregard of tax refunds for purposes of determining eligibility for certain means tested federal programs, (5) the increased exemption from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individual taxpayers, and (6) the offset against the AMT for certain nonrefundable personal tax credits. Extends until December 31, 2013, the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer provisions of EGTRRA.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, the value of any medal awarded in, or any prize money received from the U.S. Olympic Committee on account of, competition in the Olympic Games.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, the value of any medal awarded in, or any prize money received from the U.S. Olympic Committee on account of, competition in the Olympic Games.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6233) to make supplemental agricultural disaster assistance available for fiscal year 2012 with the costs of such assistance offset by changes to certain conservation programs.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012
Startup Innovation Credit Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a qualified small business, other than a tax-exempt organization, to use a portion of its tax credit for increasing research expenditures as an offset against its payroll tax liability under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). Defines "qualified small business" as a corporation, partnership, or S corporation if the gross receipts of such entity for the taxable year are less than $5 million and such entity did not have gross receipts for any period preceding the 5-year period ending with such taxable year. Limits the amount of the payroll tax credit portion to $250,000 in any taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012
Disapproves and nullifies the rule relating to the health insurance premium tax credit submitted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012
Manufacturing Comeback Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2016 the tax credit for research expenditures; (2) increase to 25% the rate for the alternative simplified research tax credit; (3) extend through 2013 the 100% expensing allowance for depreciable business assets, the taxpayer election to accelerate the credit against the alternative minimum tax (AMT) in lieu of bonus depreciation, and the increased expensing allowance for small business property; and (4) reduce the maximum corporate income tax rate to 25% in 2013. Extends through 2013: (1) the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2011, and (2) provisions of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 that reduce tax rates on dividend and capital gain income. American Manufacturing Efficiency and Retraining Investment Collaboration Achievement Works Act or the AMERICA Works Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, with respect to statewide and local adult and youth workforce investment employment and training programs, to require a one-stop delivery system, in selecting and approving training services or programs of training services, to give priority consideration to state- and local board-approved services and programs that lead to an industry-recognized and nationally portable credential that is in high demand in the local area served and listed in the skill credential registry created under this Act. Amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 and the Trade Act of 1974 to require the same priority consideration in the state and local plans for career and technical education programs, as well as in tech prep programs and trade adjustment assistance (TAA) programs. Requires that funds allocated for local area youth activities be used, in part, for training programs, giving priority consideration to those that lead to a registry-listed credential in high demand in the local area served. Requires the Secretary of Labor to: (1) create a registry of skill credentials; and (2) list in the registry credentials that are required by federal or state law for an occupation, that are from the Manufacturing Institute-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System, and that are industry-recognized and nationally portable credentials consistent with established industry competency models, as well as consistently updated to reflect changing industry competencies. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Commerce to prepare for each research grant made by their departments a statement describing the economic impact of the activities to be carried out using the grant funding. Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2012 - Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) to: (1) revise the definition of "rule" under such Act to exclude a rule of particular (and not general) applicability relating to rates, wages, and other financial indicators; and (2) define "economic impact" with respect to a proposed or final rule as any direct economic effect on small entities from such rule and any indirect economic effect on small entities that is reasonably foreseeable and that results from such rule. Requires initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses to: (1) describe alternatives to a proposed rule that minimize any adverse significant economic impact or maximize the beneficial significant economic impact on small entities, and (2) include revisions or amendments to a land management plan developed by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior under specified Acts. Requires each federal agency to include in its regulatory flexibility agenda a description of the sector of the North American Industrial Classification System that is affected by a proposed agency rule which is likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Expands elements of initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses under RFA to include estimates and descriptions of the cumulative economic impact of a proposed rule on a small entity. Repeals provisions allowing a waiver or delay of the completion of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis. Requires the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to issue rules governing federal agency compliance with RFA requirements. Authorizes the Chief Counsel to modify or amend such rules, to intervene in agency adjudication relating to such rules, and to inform an agency of the impact of its rulemaking on small entities. Revises requirements for agency notification of the SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy prior to the publication of any proposed rule. Requires agencies to provide the Chief Counsel with: (1) all materials prepared or utilized in making the proposed rule, and (2) information on the potential adverse and beneficial economic impacts of the proposed rule on small entities. Requires each agency to publish in the Federal Register a plan for the periodic review of existing and new rules that have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities to determine whether such rules should be continued, amended, or rescinded. Provides for judicial review of an agency final rule for compliance with RFA requirements after the publication of such rule. Grants federal courts of appeal jurisdiction to review all final rules issued in accordance with RFA. Expresses the sense of Congress that schools should establish local and statewide partnerships with industry, especially manufacturing companies.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to allow a state-authorized public entity benefits pool to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for pass-through funding with respect to health care benefits provided through the pool for coverage years beginning on or after January 1, 2014. Requires the Secretary to approve such a pool if the pool will: (1) provide at least the essential health benefits; (2) provide coverage and cost-sharing protections against excessive out-of-pocket spending that are at least as affordable as the health insurance requirements of PPACA would provide; and (3) result in cost savings to the federal government because the cost of coverage through the pool is less than the cost of coverage through an exchange. Treats an individual covered under such a plan as having minimum essential coverage for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code. Requires the Secretary to provide for an alternative means by which an aggregate amount shall be paid to the pool annually based on the premium tax credits, cost-sharing reductions, and small business credits that would have been provided to an exchange plan. Gives the Secretary 180 days to make a determination on an application under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain on-demand flights (flights for which the departure time, departure location, and arrival location are specifically negotiated with the customer) from the excise tax on transportation of persons and property by air.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012
Community Post Office Relocation Act - Authorizes the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to sell, at fair market value, to certain tax-exempt private organizations fee simple title to USPS-owned post office buildings containing an office subject to relocation. Requires such tax-exempt private organizations, in order to be considered an eligible buyer, to have operated primarily within the geographic area served by the relevant post office building for at least five years prior to a USPS announcement that the building will be available for sale. Sets forth a procedure for the USPS to enter negotiations with eligible buyers in the order in which buyers submit their offers. Directs the USPS to sell such a building to the first organization submitting an offer for fair market value if all other relevant conditions are met within specified time periods. Permits the USPS, after the sale of a building under this Act, to lease the building from the buyer at fair market value for purposes of operating a post office. Requires the USPS, if a buyer under this Act makes the building available for sale, to maintain a right of first refusal to purchase the building back from the buyer at the lesser of fair market value or the purchase price plus any improvements.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6169) to provide for expedited consideration of a bill providing for comprehensive tax reform; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8) to extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and 2003, and for other purposes; providing for proceedings during the period from August 3, 2012, through September 7, 2012; providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules; and waiving a requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII with respect to consideration of certain resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012
Makes it out of order to consider a concurrent resolution providing for adjournment or adjournment sine die unless the House has been notified that the President has signed a bill to extend for one year certain expired or expiring tax provisions that apply to middle-income taxpayers with income below $250,000 for married couples filing jointly (below $200,000 for single filers), including marginal rate reductions, capital gains and dividend rate preferences, alternative minimum tax relief, marriage penalty relief, and expanded tax relief for working families with children and college students.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2012
Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2013 for the conduct of intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the: (1) Office of the Director of National Intelligence; (2) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); (3) Department of Defense (DOD); (4) Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA); (5) National Security Agency (NSA); (6) Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; (7) Coast Guard; (8) Departments of State, the Treasury, Energy, and Justice; (9) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (10) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); (11) National Reconnaissance Office; (12) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and (13) Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Specifies that the amounts authorized and the authorized personnel ceilings as of September 30, 2013, for such activities are those specified in the classified Schedule of Authorizations, which shall be made available to the congressional appropriations committees and the President. Allows the Director of National Intelligence to authorize employment of civilian personnel in excess of the number authorized for FY2013 when necessary for the performance of important intelligence functions. Requires notification to the intelligence committees on the use of such authority. Authorizes appropriations for the Intelligence Community Management Account for FY2013, as well as for full-time personnel for elements within such Account. Authorizes appropriations for FY2013 for the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund. Prohibits the authorization of appropriations by this Act from being deemed to constitute authority to conduct any intelligence activity not otherwise authorized by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Permits appropriations authorized by this Act for salary, pay, retirement, and other benefits for federal employees to be increased by such additional or supplemental amounts as necessary for increases in such compensation or benefits authorized by law. Requires specified intelligence community (IC) officials to develop corrective action plans for achieving compliance with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010. Adds specified provisions concerning the prevention of unauthorized disclosures of classified information, including additional responsibilities of IC personnel with access to such information. Establishes within DHS a Homeland Security Intelligence Program. Extends the date for the final report of the National Commission for the Review of the Research and Development Programs of the United States Intelligence Community. Requires the Attorney General to annually provide to the intelligence committees a copy of every classified opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice (DOJ) provided to an IC element on or after September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2012
Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) (Secretary) to establish a veteran jobs corps to employ veterans: (1) in conservation, resource management, and historic preservation projects on public lands and maintenance and improvement projects for cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the National Cemetery Administration; and (2) as firefighters and law enforcement officers. Requires priority employment for veterans who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. Provides for such employment in coordination with the Attorney General, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, and the Interior. Directs the Secretary to establish a steering committee for assistance in providing such employment. Directs the Secretary of Labor to commence a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of providing veterans seeking employment with access to computing facilities in order to: (1) match veterans with available jobs based on veterans' skills acquired as members of the Armed Forces, and (2) allow employers to post information about available jobs. Directs the Secretary, as a condition of a grant or contract to a state for certain veterans' employment and training programs, to require the state to demonstrate the consideration of any military training received by a veteran when approving or denying a commercial driver's license or a certification to be a nursing assistant or certified nursing assistant, or an emergency medical technician or paramedic. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish minimum funding levels for specified veterans' benefits contracts and grants to ensure that each state receives sufficient funding to support at least one disabled veterans' outreach program specialist and one local veterans' employment representative per 5,000 square miles of service delivery area within the state. Directs the Secretary of Labor, during the one-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to provide the Transition Assistance Program to veterans and their spouses at locations other than military installations in at least three and up to five states selected by the Secretary based on the highest rates of veteran unemployment. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a 100% continuous levy upon the property and rights of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) providers and suppliers neglecting or refusing to pay taxes. Repeals provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 providing for a program for the research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of technologies for ultra-deepwater and unconventional natural gas and other petroleum resource exploration and production. Permits the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport to any individual upon receiving certification from the Secretary of the Treasury that such individual has a delinquent tax debt in an amount in excess of $50,000.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2012
Extends through September 30, 2013, with specified exceptions, programs under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. Suspends specified price support authorities. Extends specified: (1) commodity programs, (2) conservation programs, (3) employment and training programs, (4) research programs, (5) energy programs, and (6) horticulture and organic agriculture programs. Extends the program of outreach and technical assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. Provides assistance for livestock losses caused by: (1) adverse weather or attacks by federally reintroduced animals, and (2) drought or fire. Provides assistance for orchardists and nursery tree growers for commercial losses caused by natural disasters.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2012
Middle Class Tax Cut Act - Extends through 2013 for a taxpayer whose income is $200,000 or less ($250,000 for married couples filing a joint return): (1) the tax rate reductions and other tax benefits of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, and (2) the reduction in the tax rate for dividend and capital gain income enacted by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Increases income tax rates and phases-out personal exemptions and itemized deductions for certain high-income taxpayers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2013: (1) the increased American Opportunity tax credit, (2) the increase in the refundable portion of the child tax credit, (3) the increased earned income tax credit percentage for three or more qualifying children, (4) the disregard of tax refunds in determining eligibility for federal and federally-assisted programs, and (5) the election to expense depreciable business assets. Extends for one year: (1) the increased exemption amount for the alternative minimum tax (AMT), and (2) the offset against the AMT of certain nonrefundable personal tax credits. Provides that the budgetary effects of this Act shall not be taken into account under the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2012
Sensible Estate Tax Relief Act of 2012 - Extends through 2013 provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 pertaining to estates, gifts, and generation-skipping transfers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a basic estate tax exclusion amount of $3.5 million, and (2) establish a maximum 45% estate tax rate. Exempts the budgetary effects of this Act from the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain on-demand flights (flights for which the departure time, departure location, and arrival location are specifically negotiated with the customer) from the excise tax on transportation of persons and property by air.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 to consider a period of time working abroad for the Chief of Mission or U.S. Armed Forces as a translator, interpreter, or in an executive level security position as a period of U.S. residence and physical presence for naturalization purposes if at least a portion of such period was spent working directly in such capacity for the Chief of Mission or U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq or Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonbusiness energy tax credit for the insulation portion of any building cladding system (including vinyl siding with integral insulating material) that has a minium thermal resistance of R-2.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
Makes permanent: (1) the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, and (2) provisions of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 that reduce tax rates on dividend and capital gain income. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent: (1) the tax deduction for tuition and related expenses, and (2) the increased expensing allowance for small business assets. Repeals the estate tax and the tax on generation-skipping transfers. Modifies tax gift tax rates and allows an increased lifetime gift tax exemption. Extends for one year the increased exemption from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individual taxpayers and the offset against the AMT for certain nonrefundable personal tax credits. Provides for an inflation adjustment to the basis of certain assets held for more than three years for purposes of determining gain or loss from the disposition of such assets.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
Providing Assistance with the Paperwork from Excessive Regulations Act of 2012 - Amends the Paperwork Reduction Act to direct agency heads not to impose a civil fine for a first-time paperwork violation by a small business concern unless: (1) there is potential for serious harm to the public interest; (2) the detection of criminal activity would be impaired; (3) the violation is a violation of an internal revenue law or a law concerning the assessment or collection of any tax, debt, revenue, or receipt; (4) the small business concern fails to correct such violation within six months after receiving notice of the violation; or (5) the violation presents a danger to the public health or safety. Permits an agency to determine that a fine should not be imposed for a violation that presents a danger to public health or safety if the violation is corrected within five days after receipt by the small business concern of notification of the violation in writing. Makes this Act inapplicable to any violation by a small business concern of a requirement regarding the collection of information by an agency if the small business concern previously violated any requirement regarding the collection of information by that agency.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
Make it in America: Create Clean Energy Manufacturing Jobs in America Act - Authorizes federal acquisition of, or the provision of federal funds to states for purchase of, only green technologies that are 85% manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies that are 85% grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States beginning in the fourth fiscal year after enactment of this Act. Provides that such percentage shall be 30% in the first fiscal year after enactment, 50% in the second fiscal year, and 80% in the third fiscal year. Defines "green technologies" to mean renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services that: (1) reduce dependence on unreliable sources of energy by encouraging the use of sustainable biomass, wind, small-scale hydroelectric, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services; and (2) use hybrid fossil-renewable energy systems. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treating any facility originally placed in service after the enactment of this Act as a qualified facility for purposes of the renewable energy production and investment tax credits unless such facility is 85% manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies that are 85% grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States. Provides that such percentage shall be 30% for a facility placed in service during 2012, 50% for a facility placed in service during 2013, and 80% for a facility placed in service during 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
Biogas Investment Tax Credit Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) an energy tax credit through 2018 for investment in qualified biogas property, and (2) financing of qualified biogas property with new clean renewable energy bonds. Defines "qualified biogas property" as property comprising a system which uses anaerobic digesters or other processes to convert biomas into a gas which consists of not less than 52% methane and which captures such gas for use as a fuel. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to undertake a study of biogas and to submit a report to Congress on such study.