Daily Deduction “Hello from the other side. I must have called a thousand times.”
Renu Zaretsky
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Calling for corporate tax reform after another inversion, again. On the heels of the Johnson Controls/Tyco deal, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman reiterated a call for business tax reform. He thinks there is consensus on cutting the corporate rate, broadening the tax base, and reforming international taxation. Is that enough to spur a deal in an election year? While the loss of tax revenue from profit-shifting and other tax base erosion is a serious problem, TPC’s Howard Gleckman is less than optimistic that Ds and Rs will agree on what to do. Maybe Congress can at least say that they’ve tried? The Obama Administration wants to encourage small businesses to help their employees save for retirement. Yesterday the White House shared its proposal to give small businesses new incentives to start retirement plans. They include regulatory changes that make it easier for firms to pool retirement accounts in multiple employer plans. Small firms that open new retirement plans for their workers would also get a tax credit of $1,500- a-year for up to three years. Those that already have plans would get a $500 credit for  three years if they begin automatically enrolling their employees. Will Congress invest in the idea? A state senator wants to make sales tax holidays an annual tradition. Ohio tried a three-day sales tax holiday last August, in an effort to boost local economies. Governor Kasich’s administration estimated that the holiday would cost $20 million in revenue. There are no hard data yet on the holiday’s financial impact, but Senator Kevin Bacon already has concluded  the holiday was a success and vows to make it an annual event. Are temporary tax-free days a gimmick? Probably. Fancy footwork on the field, and on tax forms? Italian authorities are investigating allegations of tax evasion in 35 soccer clubs in the nation’s top two divisions. They’re seizing assets worth more than $13 million from 58 individuals. Looks like a red card for them. Interested in subscribing to the Daily Deduction, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center summary of the day’s tax news? Sign-up here to get the Daily Deduction delivered to your inbox every morning. If you’d like to tell us about a new research paper or have any comments about our feature, write us at dailydeduction “at” taxpolicycenter “dot” org.