U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO TEMPORARILY EXTEND TAX DEDUCTIONS

Alabama's U.S. House delegation voted with the majority this week to temporarily extend $45 billion in tax deductions to workers and business owners and operators in order to avoid a tax increase for 2014.

The House vote of 378-46 on Wednesday to extend the so-called tax extenders sent the measure to the Senate, which could vote next week. Six of Alabama's seven House members voted for the bill.

In November, the Business Council of Alabama joined more than 500 organizations that represent millions of individuals and the entire U.S. economy in urging Congress to pass the needed tax deductions.

"These tax provisions are critically important to U.S. jobs and the broader economy," state the letters sent by the National Association of Manufacturers and signed by the BCA and more than 500 others. The BCA is the exclusive representative of the NAM in Alabama.

NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray advocated for more certainty over the state of tax extensions, noting that "It helps encourage more investment this year, and it also helps level the playing field for the larger foreign tax" issue.

"Hopefully as we move into next year, we'll have a broader conversation," Moutray said.

The House's action did not extend the tax breaks for two years as some had hoped. The provisions expire at the end of this month. "Here we are at the end of 2014 retroactively putting in policies for the whole year," Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the House budget writing committee, said.

Congress will have to reapprove the measure, or something similar, in 2015, or taxpayers who lose any deductions will see their taxes increase. The vote restores about 50 expired tax provisions retroactively and includes credits for research and development and energy.

President Barack Obama met with chief executives of some of the nation's largest corporations on Wednesday. "We are open to short-term extensions of many of those provisions to make sure that all of you are able to engage in basic tax planning, at least for the next couple of years," Obama told the gathering of corporate executives.

Business Council of Alabama President and CEO William J. Canary this week submitted concerns over a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule that will cost Alabama businesses and consumers at least $5.2 billion in higher energy costs by 2020.

"The EPA proposal, if finalized, would impose enormous costs and burdens on Alabama workers and their families and would hinder our global economic competitiveness," Canary wrote the EPA on Monday. "The impact will be most deeply felt in states like Alabama where fossil fuels provide a significant share of our electric generation."

Earlier this year the EPA announced sweeping new regulations under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act in a purported effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. These regulations would severely and negatively affect BCA members and Alabama's entire economy.

"The EPA's proposed regulation will undoubtedly increase electricity prices, which will substantially hinder economic growth," Canary wrote.

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