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While bipartisanship seems to be eluding the “supercommittee” as its deadline approaches, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Christopher Coons (D-Del.) introduced a more modest bipartisan jobs bill this week. The bill weakens, however, rather than reinforces, current efforts to simplify the tax code.
The goal of the American Growth Recovery, Empowerment and Entrepreneurs (AGREE) Act is to take the parts of President Obama's jobs bill proposal and Republican ideas on job creation that both parties agree on and put them together in a bill that can gain bipartisan support.
The bill would extend many tax credits and exemptions for businesses aimed at encouraging investment. It would also provide a tax credit for veterans who start a business franchise, allow for an increase in immigration for certain types of work visas, and clarify that federal officials can share information on copyright violations with those who hold the copyrights.
Rubio and Coons were interviewed Sunday on ABC's “This Week” about their bill. Rubio argued that, while the bill is modest, it is needed to give Americans confidence that the two political parties can work together to provide solutions to the nation's high unemployment rate.
“We believe that one of the things that's holding back activity is all the bad news and impending bad news that is coming out of Washington,” Rubio said. “We feel like if we can show people that there are things that we can work on together, that there is a glimmer of hope in Washington, that we are able to agree on the things that we agree on, we hope to get the ball rolling on a little bit of confidence over the next 12 months.”
When asked if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would bring the bill to the floor, Coons did not directly answer the question, but said, “I'm confident that Leader Reid wants to make whatever progress we can in moving legislation that will help create jobs.”
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One area of agreement on tax reform between many Republicans and Democrats is that the tax code needs to be simplified by eliminating deductions, subsidies and credits for individuals and businesses. These are sometimes referred to as “special interest tax breaks,” because they are inserted into the tax code at the request of a lobbying organization for the organization's benefit.
Ironically, the Coons-Rubio bill heads in the opposite direction on tax code simplification. It increases the number of deductions and credits and has one obvious “special interest tax break.”
The tax break for veterans who purchase a franchise was lobbied for by the International Franchise Association. It would only help veterans, not non-veterans, and it would only help veterans who purchase a franchise, not those who want to start their own small-business.
Reps. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) and William Keating (D-Mass.) have introduced the AGREE Act in the House of Representatives.
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