Click here to tell Congress to act now on R&D tax, Bonus Depreciation.
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced bipartisan legislation to reverse several harmful tax changes put in place by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), including the tax on R&D activities, Bonus Depreciation, and the Section 163(j) deduction. On Friday, January 19, 2024, the Committee overwhelmingly approved the bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, sending it on to the full House of Representatives by a vote of 40-3.
This bipartisan tax bill will:
- Reinstate R&D expensing retroactive to January 1, 2022 and through 2025, eliminating the requirement to amortize and capitalize R&D activities
- Restore 100% Full Expensing (Bonus Depreciation) retroactive to January 1, 2023 (fell to 60% on January 1, 2024)
- Returns to full EBITDA standard for 163(j) business interest loan deductions retroactive to January 1, 2023
- Increases Section 179 small business expensing limit from $1.16 million to $1.29 million
In the past week, 66 One Voice members have sent 199 messages to 88 different members of Congress, but we need to do more to ensure this vital bill becomes law. Congress needs to hear from you about the negative consequences of not acting to reverse the changes made to these tax provisions. Click here to contact your members of Congress TODAY and call on them to support and act now on the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024.
With enough pressure, the House could take up the tax bill as soon as next week, which is why we need you to act now! Click here.
Government Funding Extended Again
Facing the prospect of a government shutdown, Congress passed another short-term funding bill to keep the government operating. The new continuing resolution (CR) funds the government through February to give Congress additional time to pass the annual appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024, which began on October 1.
In November, Congress passed a “laddered” CR whereby many of the twelve less controversial spending bills would come up for a vote by January 19, and the more contentious appropriations such as those for the Departments of Defense, Labor, and Education would expire February 2. While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) agreed to a topline spending level for FY24, Congress was not able to meet the deadline of January 19 to pass the first tranche of spending bills.
The new CR pushes both deadlines to March 1 and March 8.
House Advances Resolution Overturning Joint Employer Rule
The House of Representatives has approved the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, H.J.Res 98, to overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s new joint employer rule, which would expand the factors that can establish a joint employment relationship to include indirect and unexercised control over the terms and conditions of a job.
On January 12, 2024, the House voted 206-177, with 8 Democrats joining 198 Republicans to approve the CRA which provides formal “congressional disapproval” of the NLRB’s “Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status” rule. This formal disapproval under the CRA would repeal the regulation as well as prohibit the agency from issuing any rules that are “substantially the same” as the overturned regulation.
The resolution must now be considered by the Senate, where at least two Senate Democrats will be needed to join all Republicans to pass. Should the upper chamber approve the resolution, it would then head to the White House, where President Biden has already stated he would issue a veto.
Emissions Study Bill Approved by Senate Committee
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved a bill that would require the Administration to conduct a study on the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of various U.S.-produced products, including articles of steel, iron, and aluminum.
The Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity & Transparency (PROVE IT) Act, S. 1863, was introduced by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Chris Coons (D-DE) and cleared the Committee on January 18, 2024, by a vote of 14-5.
The bill directs the Department of Energy to conduct a study to evaluate the average emissions of “covered products” produced in the U.S. and compare that figure with corresponding emissions of the same products produced by foreign countries, including G7 countries, countries with which the U.S. has a free trade agreement, foreign countries of concern, and any country that has a “substantive global market share” of a covered product.
Covered products under the bill include “aluminum, articles of aluminum, articles of cement, articles of iron and steel, articles of plastic, biofuels, cement, crude oil, fertilizer, glass, hydrogen, iron and steel, lithium-ion batteries, natural gas, petrochemicals, plastics, pulp and paper, refined strategic and critical minerals, refined petroleum products, solar cells and panels, uranium, and wind turbines.”
Annual Adjustment to OSHA Civil Penalties Have Taken Effect
The Occupational Safety Administration (OSHA) has adjusted its civil penalties for workplace safety and health violations for 2024 to account for inflation. The minimum and maximum penalties for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act have increased by roughly 3.2%. The maximum penalties for “serious and other-than-serious” violations along with failures to post required materials, and failure to correct cited violations have increased from $15,625 per violation to $16,131 per violation. The maximum penalty for “willful or repeated” violations has increased from $156,259 to $161,323 per violation, while the minimum penalty has increased from $11,162 to $11,524. The increase applies to any penalties assessed after January 15, 2024.
OSHA, under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act, is required to make annual adjustments for inflation no later than January 15 of each year.