Are you one of the 'fiscal cliff' winners?

It must be fun to spend other people's money ...

The deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff not only reduced Americans' paychecks and failed to rein in out-of-control spending, it delivered valuable goodies to Washington's favorite industries and pet projects ... including these kooky ones.
WND EXCLUSIVE

Tax breaks for rum, algae, Hollywood

'Fiscal cliff' legislation loaded with specials for Obama supporters

Published: 12 hours ago
by Taylor Rose

WASHINGTON – Hundreds of millions of dollars in “tax credits” were loaded into the Democrats’ final “fiscal cliff” bill, which passed the House yesterday.

“The deal as it came to the House was loaded with special tax credits for Washington’s favorite industries and pet projects, as well as language to extend our current, broken, dairy price controls,” Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., told WND.

Examples of the credits, according to a report from The Joint Committee on Taxation:

  • $7 million “credit for qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles to include electric motorcycles”
  • $59 million “for production of cellulosic biofuel with a maximum credit of $1.01 per gallon and inclusion of fuel from algae”
  • $78 million for motorsports with a “7-year recovery period for certain motorsports racing track facilities”
  • $119 million tax credit for “Indian employment”
  • $154 million to “Credit for construction of energy-efficient new homes”
  • $222 million for “Accelerated depreciation for business property on Indian reservations”
  • $222 million to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for a “Temporary increase in limit on cover of rum excise tax revenues”
  • $248 million for “Special expensing rules for certain film and television productions”
  • $650 million “for energy-efficient appliances.”

The full text of the bill and its amendments can be viewed here.

Broun said it “seems that the Democrats don’t mind tax breaks for the wealthy, so long as they’re targeted only to their friends.”

“My fear is that in a very short period of time we’ll be right back here having this same debate; who to raise taxes on and by how much, without a word about cutting spending,” he said.

His fear of returning to the debate “in a very short period of time” was confirmed by the Business Insider, which reported that on page 154 of the bill the date for the new fiscal cliff is March 1.


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