Breaking News!

Congress has reached a Budget deal which incorporates and reauthorizes some tax breaks and incentives for individuals and small business.   Below is a list of items that are PERMANENTLY extended!!

The credits being permanently extended include:

• An expanded Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income earners;
• The Child Tax Credit for low and moderate income workers;
• The American Opportunity Tax Credit to help students under age 40 pay college tuition and expenses;
• Low income housing credits;
• An expanded research and experimentation credit;
• Section 179 business expensing, which allows businesses to fully deduct the price of equipment and software investments;
• State and local sales tax deduction;
• Tax deductions for food inventory donated to food banks;
• A deduction for land donated for conservation; and
• A tax break for individuals to donate to charity from qualified retirement accounts.

Section 179 is the huge one for Businesses!!  Very happy with congress today for seeing the light on this one.  (For further information on Section 179, please see our Blog on 09/09/2015)

Additional items included in this legislation:

• A compromise over cybersecurity legislation that would encourage businesses to share information with the government about potential cyber threats
• Permanently reauthorize federal health benefits for emergency personnel who responded to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks;
• Put in place new security requirements for a visa waiver program, which the House passed as a standalone bill earlier this month. that has come under scrutiny following the Paris terror attacks. The legislation does not include new restrictions that would prevent Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the country, a provision House Republicans had pushed to get in the bill;
• Freeze funding for the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency; and
• Repeal country-of-origin food labeling requirements.