Obama to Propose Massive Tax Breaks for Businesses to Invest in Growth

Foxnews.com ^ | 9/6/2010 | Unknown

[Blood of Tyrants]

President Obama, in one of his most dramatic gestures to business, will propose that companies be allowed to write off 100 percent of their new investment in plant and equipment through 2011, a plan that White House economists say would cut business taxes by nearly $200 billion over two years.

The proposal, to be laid out Wednesday in a speech in Cleveland, tops a raft of announcements, from a proposed expansion of the research and experimentation tax credit to $50 billion in additional spending on roads, railways and runways. But unlike those two ideas, both familiar from Obama's 2008 campaign, the investment incentive would embrace a long-held wish by conservative economists that had never won support from either Republican or Democratic administrations.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Hey idiot: how about the Bush Cuts? I’m going to lose 2k out of pocket when those expire.

[muawiyah]

There's an older Mercantilist theory that if you build capacity (with no assumptions about increased productivity) then you will sell more, and make higher profits.

Mercantilism has been pretty well abandoned as an economic doctrine particularly since piling up unsaleable stuff has so many times proved to be a losing strategy!

If you increase productivity and make stuff cheaper, you will probably need fewer employees, yet the people still earning a living somewhere will have more disposable income because, lo and behold, they can buy stuff cheaper.

The unemployed remain unemployed under all these scenarios.

If you think there's still some fire in Mercantilism fire away ~

[Blood of Tyrants]

And I could easily write the script for the GOP to counter this.

First, tell Obama to bring these temporary tax cuts on and pledge to pass them, saying that they will take ANY tax cuts they can get, but explain why it won’t work.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Well, it also allows 100% deduction on labor, which is usually a large portion of capital investments. Normally, when you take a $5 million deduction (a deduction off your gross), you only get 36% (or whatever your tax rate is) off your taxes.

I think that this is different as it allows you to take ALL of the capital costs off your taxes.

[Mariner]

"If you are struggling to survive, you aren’t going to put out more money for capital projects just because it is deductible."

I agree wholeheartedly.

However, not ALL businesses are struggling to survive, even now. Some have adapted to the new reality and are doing OK.

[Moonman62]

Hmm, smart phone capacity ~ ? Are you going to build some of that here? Ask a relevant question.

Has the smartphone market added to our GDP or not? Has it created American jobs or not?

[Moonman62]

If you think there's still some fire in Mercantilism fire away ~

I'm not talking about any particular "ism."

[Repealthe17thAmendment]

Sorry Obie, but GAAP ain't just that space between your ears.

I'm not an accountant, but I am an accounting student.

Aren't capital investments already fully tax deductible?

[KarlInOhio]

I couldn't tell from the story which were tax credits and which were tax deductions. I wouldn't put it past Obama and gang to count postponing when taxes are paid as a "tax cut" to brag about how they are helping businesses.

[shield]

Just somethin’ that sounds good....we’ve all heard in before...still NO jobs...tankin’ economy....should of thought through the hideous actions you took against Americans and America months ago...the chickens have come home to roost...sucker...

[rfp1234]

That will really energize his radical voter base for the elections [/s].

[Steven Tyler]

You know the 2,000 page bill will mandate a 100% writeoff for only “100% green” infrastructure and projects

[rfp1234]

Whoopp de doo. No economic growth = no profits = no business taxes to offset with these brilliant deductions.

[gov_bean_ counter]

A better answer than I could give...
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalexpenditure.asp

[Brad from Tennessee]

Without a continuation of the Bush tax cuts consumers will have even less money to buy the products of Obama’s envisioned expansion. This scam is what Obama will offer in exchange for allowing the cuts in expire in January.

[Blood of Tyrants]

He already claimed that reducing your withholding while keeping the tax tables the same as a “tax cut”.

[Sender]

He told the union masses that Republicans said “no” to middle class tax cuts. Hah. Even as he prepares to let those tax cuts expire...

[kcvl]

Capital investments are depreciated over a number of years according to what is purchased & the amount.

I don’t trust Obama, et al, the devil is usually in the details.

[downtownconservative]

Obama is going back to Lenin who was forced to relax state control in the early days of the USSR to spur free enterprise because the whole country was tanking under the reins of communism. It was strictly a temporary move. Lenin died and along came Stalin. 30-40 million people died is his forced centralization and collectivization.

No doubt 0 considers Stalin an historic hero but considers Vladimir Ilyich Lenin an example in temporal practicality.

[Semperfiwife]

True that...Why do they constantly talk of “targeted” tax cuts?? Almost every Congress person has never held a private sector job yet they are attempting to micromanage society by picking winners and losers in the business game. Sheer geniuses...they got the stimulus wrong, unemployment wrong. They are the party of WRONG!!!