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Thursday, June 19, 2008
President Closes Contractor Loophole
When President Bush signed into law the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act (HR 6081) on Tuesday, he forced domestic firms employing workers through off-shore shell companies to pay payroll taxes when performing work on federal contracts. The provision in the bill uses language from the Fair Share Act (HR 5602).
Writing on Womenstake, the National Women's Law Center blog, Joan Entmacher notes that Bush signed the bill despite its inclusion of the Fair Share Act language.
Of course, cracking down on abuses by defense contractors wasn't the reason President Bush signed the bill. The new law provides tax assistance for military families -- a cause so popular that the bill passed the House 403 to 0 and the Senate by unanimous consent. So, at least this time, President Bush was willing to set aside his belief that tax cuts should not be financed by raising other revenues.
But, when it comes to closing much larger loopholes exploited by super-wealthy private investment fund managers, President Bush and his allies on Capitol Hill so far are giving no sign that they are willing to relent.
Posted by Craig Jennings
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