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401 records in US in 2008
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2008
Communities Committed to College Tax Credit Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 50% of any contribution to a tax-exempt scholarship funding trust established to provide scholarships for individuals with demonstrated financial need to attend institutions of higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2008
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6275) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide individuals temporary relief from the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2008
Recognizes the leadership of John Berthoud, Ph.D, in the formulation of tax policy and his work on public policy issues, such as tax reform and economic growth, and mourns his death.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2008
Eminent Domain Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income gain from the conversion of property by reason of eminent domain.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2008
Supports the goals and ideals of National Save for Retirement Week (October 19-25, 2008). Supports the need to raise public awareness of efficiently utilizing substantial tax revenues that currently subsidize retirement savings, revenues in excess of $170 billion for the 2007 Fiscal Year Budget. Supports the need to raise public awareness of the importance to save adequately for retirement and the availability of tax-preferred employer-sponsored retirement savings vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2008
Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for coverage of additional preventive services. Provides for gradual elimination of copayment rates for Medicare psychiatric services. Places prohibitions and limitations on certain sales and marketing activities under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and prescription drug plans. Requires offering of a range of Medicare supplemental policies. Extends the qualifying individual program. Provides for application of a full low-income subsidy assets test under the Medicare Savings Program. Eliminates Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) late enrollment penalties paid by subsidy-eligible individuals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to states for state health insurance assistance programs, area agencies on aging, and aging and disability resource centers. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for increasing the delivery of mental health services or other health care services to meet the needs of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom living in rural areas. Permits rebasing for sole community hospitals. Directs the Secretary to establish a demonstration project for development and testing of new community health integration models in certain rural counties. Amends the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, to extend through FY2009 the reclassification of certain hospitals. Increases physicians' payments. Revises requirements for and extends the quality reporting system, including incentive payments. Directs the Secretary to establish a Physician Feedback Program. Provides for: (1) incentives for electronic prescribing of medicine; (2) expanded access to primary care services; (3) extension of the floor on Medicare work geographic adjustment under the Medicare physician fee schedule; and (4) an accreditation requirement for advanced diagnostic imaging services. Revises requirements for Medicare anesthesia teaching programs. Makes permanent the exception to the 60-day limit on Medicare reciprocal billing arrangements between two physicians over a longer continuous period during all of which one of them is ordered to active duty as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces. Provides for coverage of pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation. Extends increased Medicare payments for ground ambulance services. Amends the Public Health Services Act to direct the Secretary to establish pilot projects with respect to chronic kidney disease. Revises requirements for renal dialysis. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to delay generally until after 2011 full implementation of the Medicare competitive acquisition program for the purchase of durable medical equipment (DME), prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS). Revises such program, dividing its implementation into two rounds, and specifying covered item updates for 2009-2014. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for a competitive acquisition ombudsman within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to respond to complaints and inquiries by suppliers and individuals. Provides for phase-out of indirect costs of medical education from capitation rates. Revises requirements for MA private fee-for-service plans as well as MA plans for special needs individuals. Modifies requirements for quality improvement programs. Requires prompt payment of clean claims by prescription drug plans and MA-Prescription Drug plans under Medicare part D. Revises the definition of medically accepted indication for drugs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract with a consensus-based entity for certain activities relating to health care performance measurement; and (2) evaluate and report to Congress on approaches for the collection of data regarding health care disparities. Creates the Medicare Improvement Fund. Extends the transitional medical assistance (TMA), the abstinence education program, and allotments for disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs) under SSA title XIX (Medicaid). Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to extend supplemental grants under SSA title IV part D (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF). Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend special diabetes grant programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2008
Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2008: (1) excise taxes on aviation fuels and air transportation of persons and property; and (2) the expenditure authority for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Amends federal transportation laws to extend funding through September 30, 2008, for various airport development projects, including: (1) the pilot program for passenger facility fees at nonhub airports; (2) state and local airport compatibility projects; (3) airport improvement projects; (4) Midway Island airport development; (5) small airport grants for airports located in the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau; and (6) airport planning and development grant programs. Extends through November 30, 2008, Department of Transportation (DOT) insurance coverage for domestic air carriers. Extends through March 31, 2009, air carrier liability limits for injuries to passengers resulting from acts of terrorism. Provides additional funding for the Highway Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2008
Municipal Bond Market Support Act of 2008 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the small issuer exemption from interest expense allocation rules for financial institutions to: (1) increase from $10 to $30 million the annual limit on small issuers of tax-exempt municipal bonds; (2) allow an inflation adjustment to such increased limit amount after 2009; (3) repeal aggregation rules relating to the determination of small issuer eligibility; (4) allow small issuers an election to treat borrowers separately for purposes of issuance limitations; and (5) allow financial institutions to hold up to 2% of their assets in tax-exempt securities without affecting their interest expense tax deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2008
Authorizes additional appropriations for FY2008-FY2009 to the Secretary of Labor for summer youth employment activities under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) modify tax-exempt bond financing rules to exclude from the private business use and private loan financing tests certain property used to transmit electricity or carbon dioxide or to transport crude oil and other petroleum products; and (2) reduce the state volume cap for tax-exempt bonds by the amount of bonds issued for such property. Describes the following as acts that unreasonably burden and discriminate against interstate commerce, and prohibits states, political subdivisions, and any other taxing authority from: (1) assessing natural gas pipeline property at a value that has a higher ratio to its true market value than the ratio used to assess other commercial and industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction; (2) levying or collecting a tax on such an assessment; (3) levying or collecting an ad valorem property tax on natural gas pipeline property at a rate that exceeds the rate applicable to commercial and industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction; or (4) imposing any other tax that discriminates against a natural gas pipeline providing transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Grants jurisdiction to U.S. District Courts and provides specified relief for claims of discriminatory taxation of natural gas pipeline property. Amends federal transportation law to modify the criteria for natural gas pipeline integrity reassessments to require the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations basing the intervals for reassessments on certain technical data, risk factors, and engineering analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Manufacturing, Assembling, Development, and Export in the USA Tax Act or the MADE in the USA Tax Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) phase in a reduction in the maximum corporate income tax rate from 35 to 28% between 2009 and 2013; (2) increase the deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities and limit such deduction to business entities other than C corporations; (3) make permanent the increased expensing allowance for depreciable business property; (4) repeal certain limitations on the exclusion for the housing expenses of U.S. citizens working abroad; (5) include all foreign-source royalties in passive category income in applying the foreign tax credit limitation; (6) apply the foreign tax credit limitation separately to financial services income; (7) treat certain foreign corporations that are managed and controlled primarily within the United States as domestic corporations for tax purposes; (8) treat certain foreign entities with single owners as corporations; (9) prohibit any reduction of tax withholding for payments made by a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign parent corporation to a related subsidiary in any country that has a tax treaty with the United States, except for payments made directly to the foreign parent corporation; (10) repeal special source rules for inventory property; (11) impose a fair market value standard for determining foreign oil and gas extraction income; (12) modify the limitation on excess interest deductions of certain corporations; (13) require the inclusion in gross income for income tax purposes of employee compensation deferred under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan of a nonqualified foreign entity when there is no substantial risk of forfeiture of the rights to such compensation; (14) deny the refundable portion of the child tax credit to taxpayers living or residing outside the United States; (15) repeal certain inventory accounting methods; (16) repeal the percentage depletion allowance after 2008; (17) extend the amortization period for intangible property (e.g., goodwill) from 15 to 20 years; (18) set forth rules for the application of the economic substance doctrine to financial transactions affecting tax liability; (19) impose penalties for understatement of tax attributable to transactions lacking economic substance; and (20) extend the 6.2% federal unemployment tax rate through 2018. Repeals the 3% withholding requirement applicable to payments by governmental entities to vendors of goods and services. Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) to revise and make permanent certain provisions relating to fees for certain customs services.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to revise requirements for the sale by the Secretary of Energy of products from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve. Authorizes the Secretary to sell from the Reserve if the President finds that: (1) there is a severe energy supply interruption (as under existing law); or (2) the price of home heating oil threatens the health and safety of residents of the Northeast. Requires the Secretary to sell specified percentages of the quantity of products in the Reserve as of November 1 of a fiscal year if the President finds that, on successive monthly winter dates of the same fiscal year, the average retail price of No.2 heating oil in the Northeast is equal to or more than $4.00 per gallon. Requires the Secretary to use any revenue derived from such sales to provide assistance to low-income consumers of heating oil under the Weatherization Assistance Program for Low-Income Persons of the Energy Conservation and Production Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Public Charter Schools Home Rule Act of 2008 - Amends the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 to grant authority to the District of Columbia government to regulate the Public Charter School Board with respect to its membership and the process by which Board members are appointed. Allows the current process to remain in effect until the District enacts a law that establishes such membership and process. Repeals: (1) certain requirements for annual reporting to the federal government by eligible chartering authorities and the State Education Office; and (2) the requirement that the District's Board of Education provide the federal government with access to its fiscal and staffing data.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Fostering Connections to Success Act - Amends Part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give state plans the option of providing for the state to enter into agreements to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments to grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal guardianship of children for whom they have cared as foster parents and for whom they have committed to care on a permanent basis. Amends SSA title IV part B (Child and Family Services) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make matching grants to state, local, or tribal child welfare agencies, and experienced private nonprofit organizations to help children in, or at risk of entering, foster care to reconnect with family members. Requires the applicable state agency, within 30 days after placing a child in foster care, to attempt to: (1) locate and notify any of the child's adult family members of the child's removal from parental custody; and (2) explain the options for participating in the child's care and placement. Gives states the option of covering under part E certain children in foster care, and certain children in an adoptive or guardianship placement, after attaining age 18. Provides for short-term training for child welfare agencies and prospective relative guardians. Allows an Indian tribe to receive direct federal SSA title IV part E funds if specified requirements are met. Requires each state child welfare services plan to provide that the state will develop a plan for the ongoing oversight and coordination of health care services for any child in a foster care placement. Requires case plans under SSA title B or E to include a plan for ensuring the educational stability of a child while in foster care. Provides for joint placement of siblings in the same foster care, kinship guardianship, or adoptive placement unless it would be contrary to the safety or well being of any of the siblings. Revises and extends the adoption incentives payment program. Requires the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to provide that the state will inform any individual who is adopting, or considering adopting, a child in foster care of the individual's potential eligibility for a federal tax credit. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the collection of unemployment compensation debts resulting from fraud. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to invest U.S. operating cash in repurchase agreements with acceptable parties.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Imported Ethanol Facilitation Act - Requires the President to: (1) reduce the temporary duty imposed on imported ethanol under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States by an amount equal to the reduction in any federal income or excise tax credit under the Internal Revenue Code for alcohol and ethanol blends used as fuel that occurs on or after January 1, 2009; and (2) take other necessary actions to ensure that the temporary duty imposed on imported ethanol does not exceed any federal income or excise tax credit applicable to ethanol. Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Commerce to report to Congress on the effects of the further reduction or elimination of the duty on ethanol (resulting in increased imports) on: (1) U.S. fuel prices and U.S. supplies; and (2) domestic production of ethanol.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Amends the Davis-Bacon Act to exempt parties to a contract with a tax-exempt nonprofit organization from the Act's prevailing wage requirements for laborers and mechanics.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Home Energy Affordability Tax Relief Act of 2008 or the HEATR Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers an income-based refundable tax credit for residential energy costs. Limits such credit to the lesser of 33% of such costs or $500.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require excise taxes on recreational equipment to be due and payable on the date for filing the return for such taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2008
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the Senate amendments to the House amendments to the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2642) making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2008
Military Children’s School Investment Act - Amends the Impact Aid program (which compensates local educational agencies (LEAs) for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their areas) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to LEAs that: (1) were eligible for Impact Aid in the prior fiscal year due to federally-connected children; and (2) are experiencing an enrollment increase of at least 250 or 10% consisting of certain federally-connected children whose arrival is due to military base closures and realignments or global rebasing, force structure changes or reductions, or actions initiated by the Secretary of Defense. Requires such grants to be used: (1) to construct new schools or expand existing schools to accommodate the influx of students; (2) repair or upgrade academic facilities; or (3) lease, with the Secretary's approval, buildings or portions of buildings from a private entity for additional school space.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2008
Save Family-Owned Farms and Small Businesses Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase to $1.85 million the maximum reduction amount for alternative valuations of farmland and other business property for estate tax purposes; and (2) restore after 2008 the estate tax deduction for family-owned business interests and increase such deduction to $2 million. Allows annual inflation adjustments to such increased amounts after 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2008
Retiree Health Account Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish tax-exempt retirement health arrangements and individual health accounts to assist retirees in paying their medical expenses; (2) make a portion of the tax credit for retirement plan contributions refundable for contributions to retirement health savings accounts; and (3) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to pay refundable credit amounts to retirement health savings accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2008
Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase and extend through 2008 the alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amounts; (2) extend through 2008 the offset of certain nonrefundable personal tax credits against regular and AMT tax liabilities; (3) treat net income and loss from an investment services partnership interest as ordinary income and loss; (4) deny major integrated oil companies a tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production of oil, gas, or primary products thereof; (5) limit tax treaty benefits with respect to U.S. withholding of tax requirements imposed on certain tax deductible payments made directly to a foreign parent corporation; (6) require payment settlement entities to report certain identifying information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relating to the settlement of payment card and third party network transactions; and (7) extend the applicability of the continuous levy for delinquent taxes on payments due to a vendor to property or services sold or leased to the federal government (currently, applicable to goods or services). Amends the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 to increase estimated tax payments due in the third quarters of 2012 and 2013 for certain large corporations (corporations with assets of at least $1 billion).
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2008
Reimbursing Our American Drivers (ROAD) Act of 2008 - Increases to 70 cents per mile, for the period after December 31, 2007, and before January 1, 2009: (1) the standard mileage rate for calculating the tax deduction for business, medical, and moving use of an automobile; and (2) the standard mileage rate for reimbursement of federal employee automobile expenses. Increases from 14 to 40 cents per mile the standard mileage rate for purposes of computing the tax deduction for the use of a passenger automobile for charitable purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2008
Oversight of the Performance and Effectiveness of National Contracting Act of 2008 - States the policy of the U.S. government concerning the award of contracts or grants to companies organized in an offshore secrecy jurisdiction to avoid federal tax obligations. Prohibits such awards. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Secretary of the Treasury to adopt and revise regulations and guidance as necessary to effect this prohibition. Prohibits for one year (with exceptions) entry into or approval of any contract or subcontract with a company that files periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that has failed to certify the most recently due financial report as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Prohibits award of a contract with an executive agency unless the contracting officer determines that the prospective contractor has a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics, including satisfactory compliance with the law (including tax, labor and employment, environmental, antitrust, and consumer protection laws). Prohibits entry into a covered contract (one in excess of $500,000 for the performance of functions closely associated with governmental functions) without a conflicts of interest clause described in this Act. Requires every contract that provides for award fees to link the fees to successful acquisition outcomes. Directs the Administrator of General Services to maintain a database of information regarding integrity and performance of persons awarded federal contracts and grants for use by federal officials having authority over contracts and grants. Requires the OMB Director to maintain on the USASpending.gov website specified details concerning contractors, including information about the types of work, personnel involved, prices, fees, and performance. Requires the Inspectors General of the Departments of Defense (DOD) and of Homeland Security to report to Congress on functions of the respective departments that are inherently governmental functions or closely associated with the performance of such functions and performed by contractor personnel. Requires the Secretaries of the departments to report plans for staffing such functions with department personnel and to incrementally increase staffing of such functions by their personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
Economic Recovery Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax credit for up to $500 of the cost of replacing wood stoves in residences with stoves that meet certain energy efficiency standards; (2) extend through 2011 the tax credit for producing electricity from certain renewable resources; (3) extend through 2012 the tax credit for residential energy efficient property expenditures; (4) increase and make permanent the expensing allowance for depreciable business property; (5) extend through 2009 the accelerated depreciation of qualified restaurant property; and (6) allow a tax credit for investment in Build America bonds. Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to increase funding for the weatherization program in FY2009-FY2011. Authorizes appropriations for the Energy Star program. Authorizes the establishment of the Transportation Finance Corporation to issue Build America bonds and finance transportation infrastructure projects. Commercial Truck Fuel Savings Demonstration Act of 2008 - Establishes a two-year program to allow certain heavy trucks to travel on the federal interstate highway system when diesel fuel prices are $3.50 or more per gallon without a reduction of federal highway funds to states. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations for FY2009-FY2010 for: (1) youth activities; (2) adult employment and training activities; and (3) dislocated worker employment and training activities. Amends the National Housing Act to require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to insure any homeownership retention mortgage covering a one- to four-family residence made to pay or prepay outstanding obligations under an existing mortgage.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
Energy Independence and Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend various provisions relating to energy production and conservation and to individual and business-related activities. Extends through 2009 the tax credit for producing electricity from wind facilities and through 2011 for closed and open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, and trash combustion facilities. Includes marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy as a renewable resource for purposes of such tax credit. Extends through 2014: (1) the energy tax credits for solar energy, fuel cell, and microturbine property; and (2) the residential energy efficient property tax credit. Allows a new investment tax credit for combined heat and power system property. Provides funding for new clean renewable energy bonds to finance electricity production from certain renewable resources and for qualified energy conservation bonds. Allows tax credits for investment in advanced coal electricity and coal gasification projects. Extends through 2018 the temporary increase in coal excise taxes. Sets forth special rules for refunds of coal excise taxes to certain producers or exporters. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to Congress on Internal Revenue Code provisions that have the largest effects on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. Allows accelerated depreciation for certain property used to produce cellulosic biofuel. Extends through 2009 income and excise tax credits for biodiesel and renewable diesel. Allows a tax credit for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles. Revises the program of tax incentives for investment in the New York Liberty Zone. Increases and extends through 2010 the tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures. Extends through 2013 the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial building expenditures. Extends through 2010 the tax credit for energy efficient appliances. Extends through FY2012 tax-exempt bond financing for qualified green building and sustainable design projects. Extends through 2008: (1) the increased exemption amounts for the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and related AMT provisions; (2) the election to deduct state and local sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes; (3) the tax deductions for qualified tuition and related expenses and for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers; (4) tax rules for treatment of stock and dividends of regulated investment companies and for qualified investment entities; (5) tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes; and (6) the tax exclusion for amounts received under qualified group legal services plans. Extends through 2008 various business-related tax provisions, including: (1) the tax credit for increasing research activities; (2) the tax credits for Indian employment and railroad track maintenance; (3) accelerated depreciation for qualified leasehold and restaurant improvements, for improvements to retail space, for motorsports racing track facilities, and for business property on Indian reservations; (4) the expensing allowance for environmental remediation costs and advanced mine safety equipment; (5) the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico; (6) the special rule for the tax treatment of certain payments to tax-exempt organizations by a controlled subsidiary; (7) issuance authority for qualified zone academy bonds; (8) tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia; (9) the economic development credit for American Samoa; (10) the special rule for charitable contributions of food and book inventories; (11) the increased tax deduction for corporate contributions of computer equipment and technology for educational purposes; (12) the special rule for the reduction in the basis of S corporation stock for charitable contributions of property; (13) work opportunity tax credit eligibility for Hurricane Katrina employees (through August 28, 2008); and (14) increases in alcohol excise taxes payable to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Extends through 2009: (1) the new markets tax credit; (2) the tax credit for mine rescue team training expenses; (3) the subpart F exemption for active financing income earned on business operations overseas; (4) special rules for the tax treatment of payments between related controlled foreign corporations; and (5) expensing of costs of certain film and television productions. Extends through 2014: (1) the suspension of tariff duties on certain wool products; and (2) the Wool Research Trust Fund. Makes permanent the authorities for: (1) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) disclosure of tax information relating to terrorist activities; and (2) IRS undercover operations. Allows individual taxpayers an additional standard tax deduction in 2008 for state and local real property taxes. Lowers in 2008 the earned income threshold amount for determining the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Allows individuals who receive a settlement from Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation to average any settlement or judgment-related income over a three-year period or contribute such income to a tax-exempt retirement account. Allow attorneys a tax deduction in the current taxable year for reimbursable expenses and court costs which they pay or incur in connection with contingency fee cases. Allows an excise tax exemption for certain wooden arrow shafts. Modifies criteria for penalties on tax return preparers who understate tax liabilities. Allows taxpayers who claimed a casualty loss deduction for damage to a personal residence caused by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, or Wilma and who subsequently received a grant as compensation for such damage to file an amended tax return to disallow the casualty loss deduction without payment of any tax penalty. Waives deadlines for starting and completing construction for property in the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone eligible for bonus depreciation. Includes Colbert and Dallas Counties in Alabama within the GO Zone for purposes of tax-exempt bond financing. Amends the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to extend such Act through FY2011. Sets forth revenue provisions relating to: (1) the inclusion in gross income of deferred compensation paid by certain foreign entities; and (2) increases in estimated tax payments of certain large corporations. Delays until 2019 the application of special rules for the worldwide allocation of interest for purposes of computing the limitation on the foreign tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify provisions relating to the waiver of penalties for failure to disclose reportable transactions (i.e., transactions which have a potential for tax avoidance or evasion) to grant authority to the Secretary of the Treasury (instead of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue) to rescind or waive all or a portion of such penalties and to allow a waiver if there was reasonable cause for the failure to disclose such transactions and the taxpayer acted in good faith.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
Accelerating Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit for the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas emission.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $16,000 to $30,000 the adjusted gross income limitation applicable to qualified performing artists who are eligible to deduct their performance expenses from gross income (above-the-line tax deduction). Provides for an inflation adjustment to such increased income limitation beginning in 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify provisions relating to the waiver of penalties for failure to disclose reportable transactions (i.e., transactions which have a potential for tax avoidance or evasion) to grant authority to the Secretary of the Treasury (instead of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue) to rescind or waive all or a portion of such penalties and to allow a waiver if there was reasonable cause for the failure to disclose such transactions and the taxpayer acted in good faith.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
Responsible Highway Investment Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate the requirement that obligations held by the Highway Trust Fund be U.S. obligations that are not interest-bearing.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
American Commercial Ethanol Fairness Act of 2008- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax credit for alcohol used as fuel to include ethanol used in tetra ethyl ortho silicate (TEOS) production. Allows taxpayers a credit for 45 cents per gallon of alcohol which is ethanol used in the production of TEOS. Requires that the TEOS be manufactured in the United States and sold in a trade or business of the taxpayer.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 11 June 2008
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2008
Preserving Access to Medicare Act of 2008 - Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) revise the payment adjustment for low-volume hospitals; (2) extend increased Medicare payments for ground ambulance services; (3) extend the authorization for Medicare rural hospital flexibility program grants; (4) provide for rebasing for sole community hospitals; and (5) extend the rural home health add-on policy through 2009. Revises the formula for payments for physician services to provide an update to the single conversion factor of: (1) 0.5% for the remainder of 2008; and (2) 1.1% for 2009. Extends the Physician Assistance and Quality Initiative (PAQI) Fund. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Physician Feedback Program. Revises requirements or provides for: (1) incentive payments for electronic prescribing and primary care services in physician scarcity areas; (2) the Medicare anesthesia teaching program; (3) advanced diagnostic imaging services; (4) Medicare coverage of items and services under cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation programs; (5) phase-out of the indirect costs of medical education (IME) from capitation rates; (6) quality improvement programs; and (7) certain prohibitions with respect to marketing of Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to establish specified pilot projects regarding chronic kidney disease. Amends the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 to extend the transitional medical assistance (TMA) and abstinence education programs. Amends SSA title XIX to extend: (1) the qualifying individual program; and (2) the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment for Tennessee and Hawaii. Provides for: (1) asset verification under Medicaid; and (2) reduction in payments for Medicaid administrative costs to prevent certain payment duplications. Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to extend authority for supplemental grants under SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF). Amends the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 to provide for additional funding for state health insurance assistance programs, area agencies on aging, and aging and disability resource centers. Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to make appropriations for federal reimbursement of eligible providers for emergency health services furnished to undocumented aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2008
Outpatient Mental Health Modernization Act of 2008 - Establishes a moratorium between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2010, on changes in the Medicare outpatient department (OPD) fee schedule amount established for partial hospital (episode and visit) services. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) establish an accreditation program for community mental health centers providing partial hospitalization services; (2) require a specified reduction in the OPD fee schedule increase factor for any such center that fails to submit required data on its partial hospitalization services; and (3) establish a minimum number of four units of items and services as a requirement for coverage of such services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require fiscal intermediaries under the Medicare program to file the cost reports of providers of partial hospitalization services into the Healthcare Provider Cost Reporting Information System (HCRIS) maintained by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2008
Ambulance Fuel Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt motor fuels used in providing medically necessary ambulance services from the excise tax on such fuels. Terminates such exemption after 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2008
Tax Relief for Long-Term Care Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for long-term care insurance premiums and for care provided by a caregiver to a family member or dependent with long-term care needs who resides with such caregiver. Phases in a maximum credit amount of $3,000 between 2009 and 2013. Reduces such credit amount for a taxpayer whose adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000 ($150,000 in the case of a joint return).
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2008
Senior Citizens' Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 85 percent maximum tax rate on Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. Appropriates from the general fund to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund amounts equal to the reduction in revenues resulting from this repeal.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2008
Private Property Rights Protection and Government Accountability Act - Makes any state or political subdivision thereof that carries out a public taking for any private purpose in or affecting interstate commerce ineligible for any federal economic development funds for ten fiscal years. Entitles any owner of private property subject to such a taking to injunctive and declaratory relief. Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for FY2009-FY2013.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2008
Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to exempt certain long-standing, nonfunctionally-integrated fully-funded type III supporting organizations from requirements that: (1) impose a tax on their excess business holdings; and (2) oblige such organizations to make certain percentage payouts of income or assets to organizations they support (supported organizations). Specifies such an exempt long-standing, nonfunctionally-integrated fully-funded type III supporting organization as one: (1) that was established before January 1, 1970, but has not accepted any substantial contributions after December 31, 1970; (2) none of whose donors was alive on August 17, 2006; and (3) none of whose organization managers is a family member of any donor.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2008
Working Families Gas Tax Credit Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for up to $500 ($1,000 in the case of a joint return) of the cost of gasoline and diesel used in highway vehicles for a nonbusiness purpose when the increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline exceeds the annual inflation rate by not less than 300%. Phases out the amount of such credit for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes exceeding $75,000 ($150,000 in the case of a joint return).
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2008
$150 Barrel Energy Extortion Act of 2008 - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe certain income tax regulations relating to an election to expense certain refineries. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to treat domestic use oil refinery facilities bonds as exempt facility bonds. Instructs the President to designate, and make available to the private sector, at least 10 federal sites for siting and construction of an oil refinery or natural gas refinery (or both). Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to revise the terms and conditions under which the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) is authorized to guarantee obligations for innovative technologies. Revises requirements governing the Secretary's authority to enter into contracts with sponsors of an advanced nuclear facility. Directs the Secretary to carry out a Nuclear Power 2010 Program to position the nation to start construction of new nuclear power plants as close to 2010 as achievable. Establishes an Interagency Working Group to make recommendations to coordinate federal actions and programs to promote increasing domestic manufacturing capacity and export of domestic nuclear energy products and services. Amends the IRC to allow tax credits for: (1) investment in a qualifying nuclear power manufacturing project or equipment; and (2) nuclear power facility construction. Instruct the Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations to implement a training program to meet the demand for a nuclear energy workforce. Instructs the Secretary to establish a National Nuclear Energy Council. Authorizes the Secretary to initiate temporary spent nuclear fuel storage agreements. Declares that no consideration of the public health and safety, common defense and security, or environmental impacts of the storage of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel generated in reactors licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is required in connection with development, construction, and operation of a civilian nuclear power reactor or any facility for the treatment or storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste. Amends the IRC to: (1) apply the tax credit for producing fuel from nonconventional sources to gas produced onshore from formations more than 15,000 feet deep; and (2) allow a tax credit for carbon dioxide captured from industrial sources and used as a tertiary injectant in enhanced oil and natural gas recovery. Terminates all laws prohibiting expenditures for oil and natural gas leasing and preleasing activities for areas of the outer Continental Shelf. American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act - Provides for: (1) a competitive leasing program for the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas on the Alaskan Coastal Plain; (2) distribution of federal and state revenues from federal oil and gas leasing and operations; (3) rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for oil and gas transportation; and (4) financial assistance for local government impact aid and community service assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2008
Home Office Deduction Simplification Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer who uses a residence to conduct a trade or business a standard tax deduction equal to the lesser of $1,500 or the taxpayer's gross trade or business income derived from the business use of such residence.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2008
Medicare Efficiency and Development of Improvement of Care and Services Act (MEDICS Act) of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for coverage of additional preventive services. Provides for gradual elimination of copayment rates for Medicare psychiatric services. Places prohibitions and limitations on certain sales and marketing activities under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and prescription drug plans. Requires offering of a range of Medicare supplemental policies. Extends the qualifying individual program. Provides for application of a full low-income subsidy assets test under the Medicare Savings Program. Eliminates Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) late enrollment penalties paid by subsidy-eligible individuals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to states for state health insurance assistance programs, area agencies on aging, and aging and disability resource centers. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for increasing the delivery of mental health services or other health care services to meet the needs of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom living in rural areas. Permits rebasing for sole community hospitals. Directs the Secretary to establish a demonstration project for development and testing of new community health integration models in certain rural counties. Amends the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, to extend through FY2009 the reclassification of certain hospitals. Increases physicians' payments. Revises requirements for and extends the quality reporting system, including incentive payments. Directs the Secretary to establish a Physician Feedback Program. Provides for: (1) incentives for electronic prescribing of medicine; (2) expanded access to primary care services; (3) extension of the floor on Medicare work geographic adjustment under the Medicare physician fee schedule; and (4) an accreditation requirement for advanced diagnostic imaging services. Revises requirements for Medicare anesthesia teaching programs. Makes permanent the exception to the 60-day limit on Medicare reciprocal billing arrangements between two physicians over a longer continuous period during all of which one of them is ordered to active duty as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces. Provides for coverage of pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation. Revises payment rules for power-driven wheelchairs. Extends increased Medicare payments for ground ambulance services. Amends the Public Health Services Act to direct the Secretary to establish pilot projects with respect to chronic kidney disease. Revises requirements for renal dialysis. Provides for phase-out of indirect costs of medical education from capitation rates. Revises requirements for MA private fee-for-service plans as well as MA plans for special needs individuals. Modifies requirements for quality improvement programs. Requires prompt payment of clean claims by prescription drug plans and MA-Prescription Drug plans under Medicare part D. Revises the definition of medically accepted indication for drugs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract with a consensus-based entity for certain activities relating to health care performance measurement; and (2) evaluate and report to Congress on approaches for the collection of data regarding health care disparities. Creates the Medicare Improvement Fund. Extends the transitional medical assistance (TMA) and allotments for disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs) under SSA title XIX (Medicaid). Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to extend supplemental grants under SSA title IV part D (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF), as well as special diabetes grant programs. Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress an effective plan to increase the number of primary care physicians, particularly in locations classified as underserved or with a disproportionate number of Medicare beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2008
Small Business Health Options Program Act of 2008 or the SHOP Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate an office within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to administer a health insurance program for small businesses and self-employed individuals to purchase health insurance coverage meeting certain requirements. Establishes a Small Business Health Board to monitor the implementation of the program and make recommendations for improvements. Requires the Administrator of the program to: (1) enter into contracts with health insurance issuers to provide health insurance coverage under this Act; and (2) enter into agreements with entities to serve as navigators to provide information about the program and assist in enrollment. Requires a participating employer to ensure that each eligible employee has an opportunity to enroll in a plan. Sets forth requirements for health plans offered under this Act. Requires the Administrator to contract with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to study the rating requirements, administrative procedures, and standards of external and internal review that apply to such plans and to health insurance purchased in the small group markets in the states and to develop recommendations concerning rating requirements. Sets forth premium-setting rules for plans under this Act. Allows a state to prohibit participation in this program if the state offers alternative health benefit plans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for small employers for qualified employee health insurance expenses under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2008
Alternative Minimum Tax and Extenders Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend expiring provisions relating to the alternative minimum tax, individual and business taxpayers, energy conservation, and tax administration. Extends through 2008 for individual taxpayers: (1) the offset of nonrefundable personal tax credits against regular and alternative minimum tax (AMT) liabilities; and (2) the increased AMT exemption amounts. Extends through 2009: (1) the election to deduct state and local sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes; (2) the tax deductions for qualified tuition and related expenses and for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers; (3) tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes; and (4) tax rules for treatment of stock and dividends of regulated investment companies and for qualified investment entities. Extends through 2009 various business-related tax provisions, including: (1) the tax credit for increasing research activities; (2) the new markets tax credit; (3) the subpart F income exemption for active financing income; (4) accelerated depreciation for qualified leasehold and restaurant improvements, for business property on Indian reservations, and for motorsports racing track facilities; (5) the expanded tax deductions for charitable contributions of food and book inventories by noncorporate taxpayers; (6) the special rules for related controlled foreign corporations and for the tax treatment of certain payments to tax-exempt organizations by a controlled subsidiary; (7) the special rule for reductions in the basis of S corporation stock for charitable contributions of property; (8) the increase in alcohol excise taxes payable to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; (9) the economic development credit for American Samoa; (10) tax incentives for mine rescue team training and advanced mine safety equipment; (11) expensing allowances for film and television production costs and for environmental remediation costs; (12) the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico; (13) issuance authority for qualified zone academy bonds; (14) the Indian employment tax credit; (15) the tax credit for railroad track maintenance; and (16) work opportunity tax credit eligibility for Hurricane Katrina employees (through August 28, 2009). Extends through 2009 tax credits for: (1) production of electricity from certain renewable resources; (2) residential energy efficient property expenditures; (3) investment in clean renewable energy bonds; (4) energy efficient improvements to principal residences; (5) new energy efficient home expenditures; (6) energy efficient home appliances produced after 2007; and (7) biodiesel, renewable, and certain alternative fuels. Includes marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy as a renewable resource for purposes of the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources. Extends through 2016 the investment tax credit for solar energy, fuel cell, and microturbine property. Repeals the dollar per kilowatt limitation on fuel cell property. Allows the offset of energy tax credit amounts against the AMT. Allows public electric utility property to qualify for the energy investment tax credit. Extends through 2009: (1) the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings; and (2) the suspension of the taxable income limitation on percentage depletion for oil and natural gas produced from marginal properties. Makes permanent IRS authority to: (1) conduct undercover operations; (2) disclose tax information to state agencies to facilitate combined employment tax reporting; and (3) disclose tax return information to the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) for veterans benefit determinations. Extends through 2009 IRS authority to disclose tax return information related to terrorist activities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2008
Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for coverage of additional preventive services. Provides for gradual elimination of copayment rates for Medicare psychiatric services. Places prohibitions and limitations on certain sales and marketing activities under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and prescription drug plans. Requires offering of a range of Medicare supplemental policies. Extends the qualifying individual program. Provides for application of a full low-income subsidy assets test under the Medicare Savings Program. Eliminates Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) late enrollment penalties paid by subsidy-eligible individuals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to states for state health insurance assistance programs, area agencies on aging, and aging and disability resource centers. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for increasing the delivery of mental health services or other health care services to meet the needs of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom living in rural areas. Permits rebasing for sole community hospitals. Directs the Secretary to establish a demonstration project for development and testing of new community health integration models in certain rural counties. Amends the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, to extend through FY2009 the reclassification of certain hospitals. Increases physicians' payments. Revises requirements for and extends the quality reporting system, including incentive payments. Directs the Secretary to establish a Physician Feedback Program. Provides for: (1) incentives for electronic prescribing of medicine; (2) expanded access to primary care services; (3) extension of the floor on Medicare work geographic adjustment under the Medicare physician fee schedule; and (4) an accreditation requirement for advanced diagnostic imaging services. Revises requirements for Medicare anesthesia teaching programs. Makes permanent the exception to the 60-day limit on Medicare reciprocal billing arrangements between two physicians over a longer continuous period during all of which one of them is ordered to active duty as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces. Provides for coverage of pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation. Revises payment rules for power-driven wheelchairs. Extends increased Medicare payments for ground ambulance services. Amends the Public Health Services Act to direct the Secretary to establish pilot projects with respect to chronic kidney disease. Revises requirements for renal dialysis. Provides for phase-out of indirect costs of medical education from capitation rates. Revises requirements for MA private fee-for-service plans as well as MA plans for special needs individuals. Modifies requirements for quality improvement programs. Requires prompt payment of clean claims by prescription drug plans and MA-Prescription Drug plans under Medicare part D. Revises the definition of medically accepted indication for drugs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract with a consensus-based entity for certain activities relating to health care performance measurement; and (2) evaluate and report to Congress on approaches for the collection of data regarding health care disparities. Creates the Medicare Improvement Fund. Extends the transitional medical assistance (TMA), the abstinence education program, and allotments for disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs) under SSA title XIX (Medicaid). Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to extend supplemental grants under SSA title IV part D (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF). Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend special diabetes grant programs.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 5 June 2008
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2008
Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from state volume caps private facility bonds for sewage and water supply facilities.