NLBMDA News

House to Vote on Estate Tax This Week. Take Action Now.
House leadership has announced plans to vote this week, possibly as early as Wednesday on legislation (H.R.4154) sponsored by Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) to permanently extend the 2009 $3.5 million exemption and 45% tax rate on estates passed onto the next generation. Read more.

IRS Issues New Guidance on NOL Expansion
The IRS has issued new guidance on the expansion of the Net Operating Loss Carryback provision enacted lat month by Congress. The expansion allows taxpayers to elect a 3, 4, or 5-year net operating loss (NOL) carryback instead of a normally 2-year carryback. Read more.

NLBMDA Joins Institute for Legal Reform to Oppose Lawsuit Changes
This Thursday, Dec. 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider legislation by Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) that would change pleading rules and potentially overwhelm federal courts with frivolous lawsuits. Read more.

Senate Passes Unemployment Extension, Home Buyer Tax Break

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution
The U.S. Senate late Wednesday unanimously passed legislation extending unemployment benefits and also significantly expanding a homebuyer tax credit that was championed by Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia.

The Senate voted 98-0 to extend unemployment benefits for the jobless by up to 20 weeks. In states with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent and above -- in Georgia the unemployment rate is 10.1 percent -- the jobless could receive up to 99 weeks of benefits, which average about $300 per week. Read more.

NLBMDA ALERT: Tell Congress to Oppose Health Care Tax Hikes on Small Business

BACKGROUND: The House Democratic leadership has unveiled their final health care reform legislation, with a vote expected before Veterans' Day - and possibly as early as this weekend. Unfortunately, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act" (H.R. 3962) contains numerous onerous provisions that will only drive up the costs for small businesses and penalize employers, rather than addressing health care costs in a meaningful way.

Some major areas of concern in H.R. 3962 for small businesses:

* Employer Mandate: Employers will be required to offer health care to full and part-time employees. All employers with a payroll of $500,000 or more will pay a payroll tax of up to 8 percent if they do not provide "qualified" health insurance to their employees.
* "Pay-or-Play": Employers who do offer benefits may still be subject to penalties if they do not offer "qualified" individual and family coverage, meet premium contribution requirements of at least 72.5% for individuals and 65% for family plans, and offer a "qualified" plan as defined by a government-appointed board. If an employee declines coverage from their employer and instead obtain coverage through the exchange, the employer will be subject to a payroll tax penalty of up to 8 percent. An employer who offers coverage other than the "qualified" plan can be assessed a penalty of $100 per employee per day, up to $500,000.
* Surtax on Small Businesses: The bill contains a surtax on individuals with incomes of $500,000 single/$1 million joint - which will also impact the 75 percent of small businesses who are structured as pass-through entities and pay their business taxes at the individual level.
* 1099 Reporting Requirements: H.R. 3962 includes increased corporate reporting requirements that will mandate that companies issue a Form 1099 to all corporations from whom they purchase goods or services, once a $600 per year per vendor threshold has been reached.

TAKE ACTION: Visit www.BuildtheVote.org to quickly send an email message to your Representative asking him/her to vote NO on H.R. 3962. You can also call your legislators through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

NLBMDA News

Contact Your Senators Today About the Homebuyers Tax Credit
The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday, October 20 to hear the latest on the housing market from Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan and industry representatives. Home buyer tax credit champion Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) will also address the committee to press for an extension and expansion of that credit before it expires at the end of November. One option that remains on the table is for the credit to be attached to an extension of unemployment benefits the Senate may vote on this week. Dealers are encouraged to keep calls and letters coming to their Senators to press them to act sooner rather than later to preserve the credit. Visit www.BuildtheVote.org to take action today. Read more here.

NLBMDA Submits Comments to U.S. Green Building Council on Second Draft of Certified Wood Credit Benchmarks
On Oct. 14, NLBMDA submitted comments to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on its second draft of proposed revisions of the benchmarks for the certified wood credit in the LEED rating tool. Currently, wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the only wood eligible for credit toward LEED certification. USGBC has proposed a new system of "benchmarks" that any certification scheme could be evaluated against to determine if their certification procedures would be acceptable to USGBC. Read more.

Health Care Negotiations Continue
Negotiations continue this week between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Health Committee member Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) to reconcile the competing health bills passed out of those two committees. Reid has stated plans to bring a final reform bill to the Senate floor next week. Read more.

OSHA Announces Emphasis Program on Recordkeeping
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced it is initiating a national emphasis program (NEP) on recordkeeping to assess the accuracy of injury and illness data recorded by employers. Read more.

Climate Change/Energy Hearings Set in the Senate
While most of the health care negotiations are now taking place behind-the-scenes, several Senate committees are gearing up for hearings and mark ups of climate change/energy legislation. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing this Wednesday, October 21, on the costs and benefits of greenhouse gas emissions allowances. The Boxer-Kerry bill (S.1733) is expected to be marked up in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee following three days of hearings set to begin next Tuesday, October 27.

Legislation Introduced to Tie Tax Credit for Windows, Doors and Skylights to Energy Star
On October 15, Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced legislation that would modify the existing tax credit for energy efficient windows, doors and skylights for 2010 by tying it to established ENERGY STAR® standards for fenestration products. The current $1,500 tax credit, passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), limited the tax credit to windows, doors and skylights "equal to or below a U-factor of 0.30 and SGHC (solar heat gain) of 0.30," commonly known as the ".30/.30 standard." Read more.

FLAME Act Passes Senate
As part of the 2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, the Senate passed legislation Sept. 28 to create a dedicated fund within the Forest Service to pay for fire suppression activities and prevent forest management funds from being raided during high fire activity years. Between 1999 and 2003, $2.2 billion of the $3.5 billion spent on forest fire fighting was diverted from other programs. The dedicated fund will help ensure other important forest management programs are not disrupted by budget shortfalls. The legislation now goes to conference with the House.

Have You Subscribed to the NLBMDA Green Update?
NLBMDA recently announced that it has partnered with MultiBriefs to create the new NLBMDA Green Update, a free, opt-in e-mail resource providing comprehensive biweekly news briefings of interesting stories important to the building material industry. Read more.

NLBMDA News - IRS Highlights Taxability of Personal Use of Employer-Provided Cell Phones

A recent issue has been highlighted by the IRS in the personal use of employer-provided cell phones. A little-known rule currently requires that where an employee uses the employer-provided cell phone for personal purposes (i.e., only a portion can be substantiated as business use), the fair market value of such personal use is includable in the employee's gross income. Read more.

NLBMDA News - EPA to Require Contractor Certification for Lead Removal Projects

Legislation was recently introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) to establish a national standard for product emission ceilings and to direct the EPA to promulgate a national formaldehyde rule for composite wood products by 2011. The legislation is based on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulation enacted last year and appears to be an effort to impose California's standard on the rest of the country rather than go through a lengthy rulemaking process at the EPA. The legislation, S. 1660, has been referred to the Environment and Public Works Committee. Source.

NLBMDA News - Rumors Continue to Fly on Card Check

Senators speaking to union conferences last week continued to assert that support is building for a so-called "compromise" that may remove the card check component of the "Employee Free Choice Act" but still make it easier for employees to form a union by limiting the time for employers to respond and still including dangerous binding arbitration requirements. Read more.

NLBMDA News - Baucus Health Care Plan Includes Onerous 1099 Reporting Provision

As anticipated, the Baucus health care plan also includes a corporate reporting requirement as one of the revenue raising provisions to pay for healh care reform. The plan, as we've reported previously, would require all businesses to issue 1099s to all corporations from whom they purchase goods or services. As introduced in the Senate bill, there would be a $600 threshold for each vendor, posing a further administrative burden as companies would have to track spending for each vendor to determine when the threshold was reached.

NLBMDA is working with its small business alllies on this issue and will be vigorously opposing this measure. Source.

NLBMDA News - Health Care Reform Bill Takes Shape in Senate

Tomorrow the Senate Finance Committee will begin to mark up the draft health care legislation, "America's Healthy Future Act," introduced last week by Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). Affordability has become the major focal point, with some in the Senate seeking to increase the tax credit for individuals who will be forced to purchase insurance under the Baucus plan. Affordability is also a concern for the business community, where the Baucus small business tax credit is so narrow few businesses will be able to qualify. Read more.

NLBMDA News - Support Builds for Extension of Homebuyer Tax Credit

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) last week joined Sens. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and John Ensign (R-NV) in sponsoring legislation (S. 1678) to extend the first-time home buyer tax credit for six months, and allow buyers to claim the credit for either 2008 or 2009. Staunch housing advocate Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) have also cosponsored the bill. Read more.

NLBMDA News

Congress Returns to Tackle Health Care and Packed Agenda
Congress returned to Washington today to set to work resolving differences on health care reform that only seemed to widen during the August recess. Climate change legislation, expiring tax credits and the annual spending bills are also on the to do list, making it likely that the scheduled October 8 adjournment date will pass long before Congress completes their work for the year. President Obama will deliver remarks on health care to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening. Read more.

NLBMDA Calls on Congress to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credit
As Congress gets back to work, NLBMDA is calling on members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee to highlight the importance of extending the homebuyer tax credit before it expires on November 30, 2009. Over 140 letters were sent by NLBMDA members during the August recess, highlighting the importance of this tax credit in returning the housing market to stability and restoring our nation's economy. NLBMDA called on the committees to support and pass legislation such as that introduced by Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) to make the tax credit available to all buyers and extend its availability through 2010. Read more.

Lawmakers Considering Temporary Estate Tax Fix
Faced with the Dec. 31, 2009, deadline for the phased-out elimination of the estate tax, which will go to zero in 2010 but return in full in 2011, legislators have begun to explore various options for retaining the tax. Several bills have been introduced that would make permanent exemptions of $2 to 5 million and lock in overall tax rates at 30, 40 or 55 percent. Read more.

Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives Introduced
While broader climate change legislation is being delayed in part due to the debate on health care reform, more targeted pieces of legislation are being promulgated to seek to extend existing and create new incentives for energy efficient and green buildings. Just prior to the August recess, Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced a package of tax incentive legislation including the "Expanding Building Efficiency Incentives Act" (S. 1637). Read more.

NLBMDA News - Congress Works to Extend FHA Foreclosure Fund

Before the August recess, Congressional leaders are working to pass legislation boosting funds for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), as well as the Federal Highway Trust Fund and unemployment fund. The bill would increase the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund commitment limit from $315 to $400 billion. Without such action, the funds available for foreclosure mitigation could run dry in August, jeopardizing the few positive signs of life the housing industry is currently experiencing.

NLBMDA News - Card Check Negotiations Given New Life By Franken's Arrival

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) was finally sworn in to the U.S. Senate on July 9, giving the Democrats the 60-vote block they need to override procedural hurtles on controversial legislation such as the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act" (H.R.1409/S.560). While several key Democrats continue to hold firm in opposition to the card check legislation as currently written, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) continues to press for support of a "compromise" that will garner enough votes to bring the legislation to the Senate floor before the end of the month. Dealers who are concerned about legislation that undermines the employee-employer bargaining relationship should visit www.BuildtheVote.org to remind your Senators to hold firm in opposition to card check legislation in any form. Source.

NLBMDA News - Health Care Reform May Be Funded by Tax Hikes

As Democratic leaders in the House and Senate struggle to identify methods to pay for the estimated $1 trillion price tag of health care overhaul that includes a public plan, House Democrats are reported to be leaning towards raising taxes on individuals who earn more than $280,000 and couples earning more than $350,000. Of course, these tax hikes would also impact small businesses paying on the individual rate schedule. It is estimated this would cover half the cost of the legislation, while the remainder would be covered by lower Medicare spending. Read more.

NLBMDA News - Energy/Climate Change Legislation Gets Chilly Reception in the Senate

Following the closer than anticipated vote in the House of Representatives on energy legislation in June, Senate committee chairs have backed off of earlier assertions that a bill could be passed out of that chamber prior to the August recess. Read more.

NLBMDA News - DHS to Increase I-9 Compliance Efforts; Senate Seeks to Preserve "No Match" Rule

Recently, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency announced that it was increasing its I-9 compliance enforcement efforts. The I-9 form is the eligibility-for-employment form that requires verification of certain documents. At the same time, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the agency would rescind the controversial Social Security No-Match Rule, which had been blocked by a court order. Read more.

More on Weatherization

The Home Channel Network explains more on the weatherization tax credits in their article Pay Now, Save Later.

U.S. consumers were already predisposed to spending money on energy - efficient products before the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act came along this year. A survey published by the Home Improvement Research Institute in 2008 found that "reducing household energy costs" was the number one reason cited for going green by respondents. Read more.

NLBMDA News - Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Legislation Introduced

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) have introduced the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460/S. 1152) which will set a standard for mandatory paid sick leave for all employees. The bill would require an employer to provide each employee with no less than 1 hour of accrued sick time for every 30 hours worked up to a total of 56 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year. Read more.

NLBMDA News - Health Care Legislation Continues to Take Shape

While the Senate Finance Committee pushed back a planned committee markup of financing options to meet the $1 trillion price tag of the Democratic health care overhaul, House and Senate Committees have continued work to draft a comprehensive bill. Unfortunately, all efforts still focus on an employer mandate that would have significant consequences for business owners, the vast majority of whom already provide health benefits, and a public option that would compete with private insurance plans. Read more.

NLBMDA News - Contact Your Legislators on the Form 1099 Tax Gap Proposal

As announced in last week's NLBMDA alert, President Obama's FY2010 budget proposal contains numerous tax hikes on employers and small businesses. One such proposal, which may be considered as a method to pay for the high cost of the Democratic health care overhaul or other programs, is one that would require that all businesses issue 1099 Forms to all of their service providers, including corporations. Read more.