Administration’s FY 2012 Tax Policies Offer Mixed Bag for Construction

As part of the Administration’s FY 2012 Budget Request to Congress, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Monday released the General Explanations of the Administration’s FY 2012 Revenue Proposals, or “Greenbook.”  While the Greenbook provides incentives for infrastructure, including a proposal to continue the Build America Bonds program and replace the current tax deduction for energy efficient commercial building property with a more generous tax credit to encourage building owners to retrofit their properties, the Greenbook also calls for tax increases for the upper-income tax brackets and a return to the 2009 estate tax structure starting in 2013 after current law expires.  In addition, the Greenbook calls for changes to the taxation of carried interest as ordinary income, worker classification, and inventory accounting, all of which AGC opposes.  In contrast, like AGC, the Greenbook recommends repeal of the IRS Form 1099 reporting requirement for business-to-business transactions for purchases of goods totaling $600 or more annually.  However, the Greenbook does not mention the 3 percent withholding mandate also scheduled to take effect in 2012.  For more information, contact Karen Lapsevic at (202) 547-4733 or lapsevick@agc.org.