Lamar Whitman Posts

Enacted last year, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 established an “Intermediary Lending Pilot Program” to provide direct loans to non-profit intermediaries for the purpose of making loans to small business.  This pilot program will terminate after three years.  Under this pilot, loans of as high as $1 million will be made to 20 organizations in 2011, and these organizations are required to use this money to make small business loans of as high as $200,000 in mostly underserved markets.This p ...

Both the House and Senate introduced legislation to require sellers to collect and file sales tax returns on all interstate sales.  In the Senate, Sen. Durbin introduced the bill (S. 1452) with co-sponsors Sens. Reed and Johnson.  And in a surprise move in the House, Rep. Conyers introduced a companion bill (H.R. 2701), with co-sponsors Reps. Shuler and Welch.  Although Sen. Durbin had been reported to be searching for a Republican co-sponsor, bi-partisan support did not materialize in either th ...

We have written earlier concerning our opposition to this new withholding requirement.  Enacted into law in 2006, this provision requires all federal, state and local government entities and instrumentalities to withhold three percent of payments made for goods and services.  Initially set to go into effect in 2010, legislative extensions had pushed the effective date to January 1, 2012.  And by regulation, the IRS further extended the enforcement to January 1, 2013.It seems pretty clear that n ...

We continue to see the most significant challenge facing small technology firms is the shortage of capital.  Congress has known about this issue for the last few years, however, there has been no substantial move to address the need.  And while the Recovery Act provided much needed funding for many businesses and government jurisdictions, small businesses were left without cover.  Of course, some noted that small businesses could apply for SBA loans, however, the banks were simply not lending.  ...

When the small business lending legislation (HR 5297) was enacted into law last September, it was heralded as a step to stimulate loans to small businesses by community banks.  Under this legislation, $30 billion has been directed to a “Small Business Lending Fund” administered by the Department of Treasury.  The purpose of this fund is to provide capital investments in small banks (community banks with assets of $10 billion or less) coupled with incentives for those banks to increase small busi ...

The House Judiciary Committee favorably reported out H.R. 1439, the "Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2011," by a voice vote yesterday. Now, this legislation can be considered by the full House, although the timetable is uncertain.This legislation sets up a physical presence nexus standard, which means that in order for a state to tax a business activity, that business must have a tangible connection to the state, such as an office or a sales force. Without this legislation, businesse ...

In April, we noted that legislation had been introduced in the House to require a distinct physical presence as a prerequisite for the taxation of interstate business activities.  If this legislation is not enacted, businesses could be subjected to conflicting income tax requirements of competing states on the same transaction, and this will result in increased compliance costs.So now that this legislation has been introduced, how do we move it along?  The key is to show a broad base of support ...

Even as discussions about tax reform are continuing in D.C., the reality that reform might not be accomplished soon is beginning to set in.  Sure, we need a simpler and more efficient tax system, and we also need additional tax revenues that can be gained from closing loopholes.  However, considering the ongoing impasse in Congress, how do we get there?Part of the answer might be forced by the negotiations on increasing the nation’s debt limit, which will/must be addressed by the end of July.  H ...

As a member of The Government Withholding Relief Coalition, we urge you to add your name to the National Sign-on Letter calling for repeal of the new 3% federal tax withholding requirement on payments made by most government entities. Scheduled to go into effect in 2012, this law would require all federal, state and local government entities and instrumentalities to withhold three percent of payments made for goods and services.  The bottom line here is:  This withholding will result in decrease ...

By a vote of 387 – 33, the House voted yesterday to extend the popular SBIR/STTR programs which were set to expire on the same day, May 31. The Senate already had passed the extension on May 26 by unanimous consent.  The extension is only for four months and will expire after September 30.  All anticipate that the President will sign this extension into law.In an earlier post, we noted that legislation, which would have both extended and enhanced these programs, was stymied by controversy surro ...