PALOS HEIGHTS - Palos Township Trustee Sharon Brannigan, Republican candidate in the 3rd Congressional District, committed to Americans for Tax Reform that if elected to the U.S. Congress from Illinois, she would fight any and all tax increases.
Brannigan, a small business owner in Orland Park, dived right into tax reform controversy by taking on Senator Max Baucus' (Dem-Montana) "Cost Recovery Tax Reform Draft," and defined on her website why the proposal is bad for U.S. taxpayers:
[A] Its A European Tax.
The plan mirrors the tax treatment of business assets seen in European tax plans (which would explain how Senator Baucus got the idea from Senator John Kerry, a known Europhile), the Baucus European Plan would end the current depreciation rules for business tangible property.
As an example, a company can only deduct 38 percent of each new computer’s purchase in the first year, and only 38 percent of the old computers’ remaining value (which declines every year) but never to zero… The older computers’ cost is never recovered in full before obsolescence.
[B] Vehicle Clause.
The draft imposes a $45,000 lifetime cap on depreciation deductions for business use of a personal vehicle. This is a big tax increase on small business owners who use their cars a lot for business (think realtors, salesmen and even clergy).
[C] The Mad Men Clause.
The Baucus European Plan imposes an arbitrary restriction on advertising expenses. Half of an annual expense can be deducted in the year paid, with the remaining half amortized over 60 months (5 years). For companies that advertise regularly, this means they effectively can never catch up.
[D] The Let’s Halt Energy Production Unless Its Green Clause!
Requires research and experimentation expenses, intangible drilling costs, and other energy extraction costs to be amortized over 60 months (5 years). This would have a devastating impact on America’s energy production, which in turn will make energy more expensive for working families. The Baucus Committee writers say that they haven’t made a decision on what to do with green energy tax credits set to expire at the end of 2013. They are considering potentially making these tax credits permanent, while arbitrarily increasing taxes on productive energy companies and manufacturers.
"Please join me in saying NO to the Proposed Baucus European Tax Plan, as it stands now!" Brannigan said. "Let's stop punishing businesses and job creators with further tax burdens and lets empower small businesses and companies to produce energy, purchase goods, strive for efficiency and help them achieve success so they can expand and hire more workers in this lagging economy."
