03 Oct 2011

Q & A on Chinese Currency and U.S. Exports with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

By Sen Charles Grassley

Q:        What's the effect on Americans when China undervalues its currency?

A:        China's policy of intervening in its currency markets to limit or halt the appreciation of its currency, the yuan, against the U.S. dollar or other currencies has the effect of keeping Chinese exports cheap and imports expensive, putting some U.S. businesses at a disadvantage.  That has a negative effect on U.S. jobs.  It's also an unfair and unlawful trade advantage for China to subsidize its exports.  New market opportunities are needed for job creation here at home, and market-based currency policy is an important factor in free and fair trade relationships.  Iowa has long been an exporting state, with good-paying jobs related to exports in manufacturing and agriculture.  One in every three tractors made in John Deere's plant in Waterloo is sold to customers overseas.  One in every three acres planted on Iowa farmland heads to the international marketplace.  Ag exports account for one-quarter of farm cash receipts in Iowa.  U.S. exporters deserve a level playing field with China's exporters.

Q:        What can be done?

A:        By law, the Treasury Department is required to name any country it suspects of manipulating the value of its currency to gain an unfair advantage in international trade.  Unfortunately, for too long, presidential administrations of both parties haven't done what the law allows.  The current debate in Congress over China's currency policy draws from more than five years of legislative proposals that would induce China, and other countries manipulating their currencies, to reform its currency policy or to address the effects of that policy on the U.S. economy.  I've introduced bipartisan legislation in the past, and this fall there is a proposal with bipartisan support to increase U.S. oversight of currency manipulation.  The measure would trigger meaningful consequences for countries that fail to adopt appropriate policies to eliminate currency misalignment and make sure U.S. trade laws may be used to counter the economic harm to U.S. manufacturers caused by currency manipulation, in accordance with international trade laws.

The executive branch also can and should prepare a case against China's currency manipulation in the World Trade Organization, the 153-member organization (made up mostly of sovereign nations) that governs international trade.  The framework for World Trade Organization policies is based on the principles of non-discrimination, reciprocity, binding and enforceable commitments, transparency, and safety valves.  In joining the World Trade Organization ten years ago, China committed to adhering to the trade rules of the global marketplace.  If China is not willing to live up to its obligations, the behavior should be challenged under the international rule of law.

 

September 30, 2011
03 Oct 2011

Road to Recovery by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

By Sen Chuck Grassley

As Americans stare down a road of economic uncertainty, the White House has issued yet another spending plan that it says will put Americans back to work.  Shoveling more tax dollars out the door can't make up for the President's first stimulus plan that turned out not to be so shovel-ready after all.

Adding insult to injury, the President is pitching to pay for his $447 billion plan by raising taxes.  He says it's a matter of fairness.  Fair to whom?  Raising taxes on small business owners will not help create jobs.  Instead of rewarding risk and ambition, the President's so-called Buffett Rule would siphon away job-creating capital and investment for Main Street and send it to Washington to spend.

Considering Washington's poor track record for prudent fiscal stewardship, it doesn't make sense to believe that raising taxes on the wealthy will solve Washington's deficit disorder.

Just consider a recent audit by the internal watchdog at the U.S. Justice Department.  The analysis revealed extravagant spending on the taxpayer's dime, including conference fees charging $16 per muffin and $8.24 per cup of coffee.  Has the federal bureaucracy even heard of sticker shock?  The taxpaying public deserves better.  The audit exposes yet another example of the type of excessive, wasteful spending that tells taxpayers Washington just doesn't get it.  In fact, spending by the Justice Department on conferences has increased from $48 million in 2008, to $73 million in 2009 and $92 million in 2010.

And yet the President is trying to score political points with what he's calling the Buffett Rule, named after the billionaire investor who likes to say he doesn't pay enough taxes.  First, let's be clear on one point.  No one is stopping Warren Buffett from sharing more of his income with Uncle Sam.  But it's irresponsible and disingenuous for the President to portray the Buffett Rule as the solution to the federal government's enormous budget shortfall.  In fact, the Buffett Rule is just another, more complicated version of the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT.  The AMT, originally intended to tax a small number of rich individuals who didn't pay any federal tax, now hits millions of middle-class families.  Those wealthy who don't want to pay any tax will always have an army of lawyers and accountants to help them.  An additional AMT isn't going to change that.

What's more, penalizing risk-takers and job creators will not help grow the economy. Strangling small businesses with red tape doesn't help create jobs.  We need public policy to promote wealth creation, not to stifle ambition.

As policymakers, analysts and investors try to find a pulse in the U.S. economy, American households are hesitant to spend and businesses are bracing for slower growth.  With 25 million Americans looking for work, job creation is priority number one. Consumer confidence won't recover without paychecks.

Partisanship and poll-driven ideology such as the Buffett Rule need to take a back seat. Instead, Washington needs to let America's entrepreneurs; innovators and risk takers get America back on the road to economic recovery.

Congress gave the green light to ramp up America's entrepreneurial spirit with passage of the America Invents Act.  As a sponsor of the bipartisan patent reform legislation signed into law in September, I worked to protect inventors' rights and shift innovation and investment in our economy into the fast lane.

The new law gives fast-track approval process to start-ups, cutting an average wait time. When entrepreneurs need critical investment to get their business off the ground and running, patent ownership can mean the make-or-break difference.

Getting ideas, inventions and goods to the market sooner will help foster economic growth and employment on Main Street USA.  The America Invents Act addresses the backlog at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and recognizes the outdated patent review system slows innovation with costly litigation and delays.

The newly updated patent laws will give America's scientists, researchers and engineers an edge in the global marketplace.  Public policies that clear the way for American businesses to compete and give consumers what they want will help put America on the path towards long-term prosperity.  Washington needs to steer clear of regulatory roadblocks and burdensome taxes that would send the U.S. economy in the wrong direction.

Let's be clear.  The Buffett Rule would not help the U.S. avoid a double-dip recession or encourage employers to put Help Wanted signs in their storefronts on Main Street.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011
03 Oct 2011

Senate votes on continuing resolution

By Grassley Press
"There's widespread support in Congress to fund assistance for Americans who have been hit by natural disasters.  We have an obligation as an insurer of last resort and need to keep that commitment.  The only thing different this year is the effort to offset some of the cost, in order to establish more fiscal responsibility in Washington in the face of deficits as far as the eye can see and in response to the clear message sent last year by voters.  The Senate majority leader drew a line in the sand that didn't need to be drawn.  There's bipartisan and bicameral support for necessary funding to keep the government operating, including assistance for disaster recovery."
03 Oct 2011

Governor Quinn Announces Japanese Manufacturer Investing $35 Million to Expand Illinois Facility

By Katelyn Tye

Continues Business and Economic Trade Mission throughout Asia

SPRINGFIELD - September 26, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today announced that Japanese manufacturer Sakae Riken Kogyo Co. is investing $35 million to expand its Peru facility and create 25 new Illinois jobs. Today's announcement is one of several business and economic partnerships the Governor has announced during his trade mission throughout Asia, and builds upon his aggressive goal of doubling exports by 2014.

"The relationships we're building as a result of our outreach in the Asia market will help Illinois maintain its global standing and create jobs for us at home." Governor Quinn said. "This project is another example of a strong Japanese company making the decision to locate or expand its domestic operations in Illinois where a company can not only thrive but build for the future."

Sakae Riken Kogyo Co, which is operating under the name of Eakas Corporation, will expand its existing facility in Peru from 257,000 square feet to 537,000 square feet in order to support its next generation of manufacturing. Eakas Corporation produces plastic parts and other decorative trims for the automotive industry. Completion of the new plating line will make Eakas the only manufacturer in North America to provide color molding, paint, hydrographics™ and chrome decorative finish components under one roof.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is providing a $675,000 Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP) Flex Grant to the village of Peru to assist with local infrastructure improvements in support of the facility. Illinois' CDAP program - known nationally as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program - supplies federal funding for community-based projects. Communities with populations of 50,000 or less can apply for CDAP-Flexible Opportunity grant funding to support a variety of projects that provide significant community benefits but fall outside of other CDAP program parameters.

"The Peru facility will provide a much greater global presence for Eakas Corporation, with farther reaching global expansion slated in the future for Sakae  Riken," said Tom Mori, president, Eakas Corporation. "The long-term, outstanding effort by the current and past Eakas employees has allowed Eakas to enjoy the reputation of being an outstanding supplier of decorative parts in the automotive industry and is the primary reason why we are expanding in Illinois. This project wouldn't have been possible without the outstanding efforts of Governor Quinn, the state of Illinois and the city of Peru."

"We live in an increasingly global society and our global partnerships will be key to our long-term economic growth," said DCEO Director Warren Ribley. "Through our aggressive set of business programs, we're able to help businesses of all kinds grow and prosper."

The state of Illinois is also providing Eakas with a $50,000 grant through the Illinois Jobs Now! capital program. DCEO is administering a $334,250 business investment package consisting of tax credits spread out over a 10 year period to support job creation, and a job training grant to help the company's workforce remain on the cutting edge. The company is also eligible to receive local benefits from being located in an Enterprise Zone. The city is providing enhanced infrastructure capabilities including waste water treatment and electrical capacity.

"I would like to thank everyone from the city of Peru that participated in helping bring this $35 million expansion effort to Peru, our partners at the state of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the Eakas Corporation for their confidence in the city of Peru," said Scott J. Harl, Mayor of Peru.

While in Japan, Governor Quinn is attending the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association's annual meeting and talking with a number of Japan-based companies that have a presence in Illinois.

For updates on Governor Quinn's trip, visit www.Illinois.gov or follow him on Twitter at @GovernorQuinn. More information about Illinois trade and business opportunities can be found on the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's website at www.illinoisbiz.biz.

 

 

###

03 Oct 2011

Q&A: Oversight of the SEC

By Grassley Press

Q&A on the Securities and Exchange Commission

with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

Q:        What's the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission?

A:        The SEC was created during the Great Depression, in the wake of the stock market crash of 1929, when the public's faith in capital markets needed to be restored.  The agency is supposed to strengthen investor confidence by providing transparent, reliable information and rules for fair, orderly and efficient markets.  This should help facilitate the capital formation necessary for economic growth and job creation.  When the agency fails to meet its mission, the negative repercussions can impact anyone with investments monitored by the SEC, including investments in pension and other retirement funds.

Q:        How did you get involved in oversight of the SEC?

A:        I'm committed to the work of congressional oversight, and there's a great need for it with the SEC.  Four years ago, based on information from a whistleblower and the work of my investigative staff, I spelled out in a comprehensive report (with then-Senator Arlen Specter) how the SEC Inspector General failed to investigate credible allegations by a former SEC attorney that his supervisor pulled punches in an investigation because of one Wall Street witness' political clout.  The report hit a nerve and, ultimately, the SEC attorney who blew the whistle was vindicated.  Last year, the SEC finally obtained a $28 million settlement from the capital management company in question and paid the attorney years of back pay in a settlement related to his termination.

Adding to that, last March, a new Inspector General of the SEC issued a stinging rebuke of an agency program created more than 20 years ago to help target insider trading and securities fraud by rewarding agency employees who spoke up and shared valuable information.  Last summer, knowing that the SEC missed the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history in the Bernard Madoff case, a colossal mishap that might have been avoided if the SEC had paid attention to whistleblower information, Congress passed legislation I authored to dramatically beef up a whistleblower office inside the SEC.  I'm still working to make sure that office is strengthened as the law calls for, and not weakened by institutional ego.  Every source of information is needed to combat financial fraud.  Both investors and taxpayers are exposed by wrongdoing.  I want to see the SEC embrace whistleblowers because they can help with the mission.  Whistleblowers could help stop another Madoff.

Q:        How can the public have confidence that the SEC isn't too close to the industry it oversees, especially the big players?

A:        A revolving door between agency staff and the investment firms and banks they oversee has led to concerns of coziness and the soft-pedaling of potential criminal cases.  Last year, the SEC Inspector General identified cases where the revolving door appeared to be a factor in staving off enforcement actions and other types of oversight, including cases involving Bear Stearns and the Stanford Ponzi scheme.  I offered an amendment to the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial services reform bill to extend the cooling-off period at financial agencies to two years and to require a list of former agency employees who are representing clients before their former agencies.  Unfortunately, my amendment was blocked by the bill sponsors.  These reforms plus better record-keeping by the SEC are needed to help maintain the regulator's integrity and preserve the public trust in a balanced playing field.

This year, I'm working to make sure the SEC is held accountable for what it does with referrals of suspicious trading activity from one of the biggest and most powerful hedge funds.  How the SEC handled specific referrals will shed light on how the enforcement system works.

I also highlighted the big divide between the stated policy of the SEC and its actual practice of providing information to the securities industry about the criminal law enforcement intentions of the Department of Justice.  The SEC enforcement manual, which was revised after the 2007 Grassley-Specter report, is undermined if the SEC relays to potential targets of investigation exactly what the Justice Department has in store for them.

Separately, I've helped to shed light on the actions of the SEC's former General Counsel David Becker.  After missing the Madoff scam, the top leadership of the SEC let one of its own who profited from a Madoff account craft the commission's position on how to treat Madoff victims.  The agency let this major conflict of interest slide and then tried to cover it up.  After a comprehensive report, the Inspector General has referred Mr. Becker's case to the Justice Department, but the SEC's ethical standards need to be stronger, consistent and uniformly applied from the executive suite to the rank-and-file employees.

 

Q:        Where else have you scrutinized what's going on inside the SEC?

A:        This year, an enforcement lawyer at the agency wrote to me and outlined what he said was the agency's destruction of least 9,000 files between 1993 and 2010, all related to initial inquiries into possible wrongdoing on Wall Street.  The lawyer said these files were destroyed as a routine matter of internal SEC policy, but that the shredding might have compromised enforcement cases against Madoff, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers, and the SAC Capital hedge fund.  I pressed for a full accounting.  In response, the National Archives said the SEC "did not have the authority to dispose of" the records in question under federal law.  And, the SEC directed staff to stop destroying preliminary investigative documents until further notice.  Keeping records is common sense in law enforcement.  You never know what might be valuable information.  Complete records also may help keep the agency honest and inoculate against compromised ethics and biases.

The promises of financial system reform will be empty if the top enforcement agency for free and fair markets is ineffective.  I will continue to work for accountability and necessary reforms of the SEC.

 

Friday, September 23, 2011
27 Sep 2011

HUD AWARDS IOWA $1.1 MILLION TO HELP LOW-INCOME FAMILIES RECEIVE JOB TRAINING, EMPLOYMENT

By Donna White

HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency Program (HCV/FSS) supports public housing agencies (PHAs) to retain or hire family self-sufficiency coordinators.  These coordinators in turn link adults in the HCV program with welfare agencies, schools, businesses and other local partners to develop the skills and experience to enable them to obtain jobs that pay a living wage. The local organizations typically provide participating individuals job training, childcare, counseling, transportation, job placement and homeownership counseling.

 

Housing agencies in Iowa received the following grants:

IOWA

 

 

 

Central Iowa Regional Housing Authority

$57,529

 

City of Cedar Rapids

$138,000

 

City of Des Moines Municipal Housing Agency

$132,973

 

City of Dubuque

$63,478

 

City of Sioux City Housing Authority

$138,000

 

Eastern Iowa Regional Housing Authority

$139,940

 

Iowa City Housing Authority

$121,721

 

Mid Iowa Regional Housing Authority

$23,528

 

Municipal Housing Agency of Council Bluffs, IA

$48,676

 

Municipal Housing Agency of the City of Fort Dodge

$102,766

 

Muscatine, City of

$55,309

 

Northeast Nebraska Joint HA

$40,756

 

Region XII Regional Housing Authority

$45,000

 

Southern Iowa Regional Housing Authority

$43,850

Iowa Total:

 

$1,151,526

 

Participants in the HCV-FSS program sign a contract that requires the head of the household will get a job and the family will no longer receive welfare assistance at the end of the five-year term.  As the family's income rises, a portion of that increased income is deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account.  If the family completes its FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds that it can use for any purpose, including a down payment on a home, paying educational expenses, starting a business or paying back debts.

 

HUD's Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program is a long-standing resource for increasing economic security and self-sufficiency among participants.  HUD issued a new report earlier this year

that evaluated the effectiveness of the FSS Program.  Conducted from 2005 to 2009, the study shows the financial benefits are substantial for participants who complete the program.  This study is the second of a three-part series by HUD that evaluate the effects of the FSS program.  The first study found individuals who participated in the FSS program fared better financially than those who did not enroll in the program.  HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) will launch the third and final installment to complete the series this year.

 

##

22 Sep 2011

Governor Quinn Announces Major Trade Partnerships Between Illinois and China

By Nafia Khan

Announces Business and Education Agreements to Further Expand Partnerships, Trade and Investment Between Illinois and China 

SHANGHAI, CHINA - September 22, 2011. Continuing his trade mission in China, Governor Pat Quinn today visited Shanghai where he announced major steps to build upon Illinois' role as a leading competitor in the global marketplace. While in Shanghai the Governor took part in several economic development and education agreements that will help pave the way for continued trade and innovation between Illinois and China.

"I am committed to making sure that Illinois is a top competitor in today's global marketplace, and our trade and education partnerships with China are a vital part of that." Governor Quinn said. "The agreements and programs our two regions are announcing today build upon those efforts to expand our economies, while also boosting innovation and growing technologies."

Among the business agreements Governor Quinn announced today was a $70 million corn products sales agreement between C&D (USA) Inc., an Illinois-based agricultural export company, and Xiamen C&D Inc. Beginning today, C&D (UDA) Inc. will sell 250,000 metric tons of Illinois corn products to China-based Xiamen C&D, Inc. for $70 million.

C&D USA is a subsidiary of Xiamen C&D. This export agreement will further Governor Quinn's aggressive goal of doubling Illinois exports by 2014. China is Illinois' third largest export destination, and is among the top five states exporting agricultural products to China. In 2011, Illinois ethanol plants sold 200,000 metric tons of corn products to C&D USA for approximately $45 million. C&D USA plans to purchase 250,000 metric tons of corn products from Illinois ethanol plants in 2012 for an estimated $56 million.

Governor Quinn participated in the signing of agreements to further strengthen the business, educational and cultural relationship between Illinois and China. The agreements include a sister river agreement between the state of Illinois and the Shanghai Water Association. Under the agreement, the association and the state will work together to share policies and innovative ideas to preserve the Illinois and Huangpu Rivers.

The Governor also participated in the signing of a sister city agreement between Morton, Ill. and Tiantai County in Zhejiang Province, which will provide opportunities to promote economic development, trade, education, science and technology, and cultural exchange and tourism between the two cities. Tianti-based Zhejiang Yinlun Machinery Co, previously selected Morton as the location of its first U.S. headquarters.

An additional agreement signed today between Zhejiang Province and Illinois was the 1,000 School Initiative to enhance educational opportunities between the two regions. Under this sister schools' agreement, the state of Illinois and Zhejiang Province will work together to make sure that students from both areas receive quality educations. The agreement will allow Illinois and Zhejiang Province to partner in training school staff, hosting summer and winter camps for students, and teaching elementary and secondary education students about the history, culture and languages of both parties.

As an economic and business center of China, Shanghai is known for attracting investment from many overseas companies. Its open policy has made it a magnet for foreign investors. Places like "The Bund" and "Pudong," which have evolved rapidly in past few years in Shanghai, have increased the city's role in

international finance, banking and trade. Shanghai has a strong base in manufacturing and technology. With many technology parks and industrial districts, Shanghai is also the leading industrial base of China.

For updates on Governor Quinn's trip, visit www.Illinois.gov or follow him on Twitter at @GovernorQuinn. More information about Illinois trade and business opportunities can be found on the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's website at www.illinoisbiz.biz.

 

###

22 Sep 2011

Governor Quinn Announces Centers Opening to Sell More Illinois Products in China

By Nafia Khan
American Goods Centers to Open This Fall in Beijing, Shanghai

 

SHANGHAI - September 21, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn continued his trade mission in China by visiting Shanghai where he announced Illinois exports will soon be more readily available to Chinese consumers. The Governor attended a reception hosted by the American Goods Center to announce plans to open centers in both Shanghai and Beijing this fall.

"Continued trade and cooperation with China will help Illinois remain at the cutting edge of the global marketplace," Governor Quinn said. "We are committed to working alongside the people of China on issues such as education, tourism and trade in order to help grow our economy for years to come."

The American Goods Distribution Center in Shanghai will open in October. Work on the American Goods Center in Beijing is almost complete, and it is expected to open this fall. Later this year, the American Goods Centers will open a purchasing office in Chicago and send its first purchasing delegation from China to Illinois to buy Illinois products.

In January, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Chicago where the Beijing International Brand Management Center (BIBMC), along with the Chaoyang District of Beijing and Changning District of Shanghai and the state of Illinois, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish American Goods Centers in Beijing and Shanghai to increase the export of Illinois goods and services to China and to foster more Chinese investment in Illinois.

Under the agreement, the state will recommend Illinois products to the BIBMC - particularly in the agricultural, auto parts and construction machinery sectors - and assist with establishing the purchase center in Chicago. Through the distribution centers, BIBMC will provide intellectual property rights protection, Chinese distribution development, channel construction, marketing and other comprehensive services to Illinois companies in China.

China is Illinois' third largest export destination, and Illinois is among the top five states in agricultural exports to China. Illinois agriculture exports to China have increased each year since 2007, from $149 million to $552 million in 2009. Illinois' overall exports to China in 2009 reached $2.47 billion. In 2010, Illinois' exports to China reached $3.18 billion, representing a 29 percent increase over 2009. Nearly 30 Chinese companies have invested in Illinois, employing thousands of Illinois residents.

Governor Quinn and the Illinois delegation also visited Shanghai's Jewish Quarter, once known as the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees. During the 1930s, 20,000 Jews fled to Shanghai, which offered visa-free sanctuary to Jews fleeing Nazism. In accordance with a Japanese-issued proclamation, those refugees were relocated to a one-square mile area in the Hongkou District. The Quarter now includes a museum and offers educational tours of the neighborhood.

###




20 Sep 2011

David Becker report from Securities and Exchange Commission inspector general

By Grassley Press
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on the report from the Securities and Exchange Commission inspector general on the agency's former general counsel's actions in the Bernard Madoff fraud case.  Grassley, a long-time watchdog of making sure the agency does its job, earlier this year urged the agency to account for its actions in this matter.

"First, the SEC missed the Madoff scam.  Then, the SEC was tone-deaf to Madoff victims.  It let a top SEC employee who profited from a Madoff account craft the commission's position on how to treat Madoff victims.  It's hard to see how the agency could have let such a major conflict of interest slide.  The SEC needs to reform its ethics polices top to bottom.  The consequences of a haphazard approach are clear.  Public confidence in the agency's ability to do its job of protecting investors is undermined by slipshod work.  The SEC needs to make sure nothing like this happens again."

20 Sep 2011

House Republicans Introduce Jobs Plan

By Sarah Wojcicki
Milan, IL....House Republican Leader Tom Cross along with Representatives Rich Morthland and Jerry Mitchell on Monday held a press conference at the Kenneth Bush farm in Milan to unveil a blueprint to attract and keep good jobs in Illinois.

"The national economy is struggling, but Illinois' economy is faring even worse," said Cross (R-Oswego).  "All but one of our neighboring states has lower unemployment than Illinois.  Today, we are introducing a plan to make Illinois more attractive to all businesses from large manufacturers, to small business entrepreneurs to family farmers."

"Family farms are the backbone of our agriculture industry and our economy in Illinois, but estate taxes are pushing families off of the land they have farmed for generations," said Rep. Morthland (R-Cordova). "We need to keep family farmers farming, and implementing a much more reasonable estate tax exemption will help a great deal. That's why we have made expansion of the exemption a key component in the plan we're announcing today."

The House Republican Job Package includes measures to:

1.      Increase the estate tax exemption to $5 million.

Under the current law, when family farms are passed from generation to generation the heirs are hit with a huge estate tax if their assets are worth more than $2 million.  Family farm assets are invested in land and equipment leaving limited available cash flow.  Our proposal would raise the estate tax exemption to $5 million?which mirrors the federal tax code.

 

2.      Re-instate the Net Operating Loss deduction.

Many businesses are losing money in this tough economy, this proposal allows them to use their net operating loss as a tax deduction extending the corporate carry forwards from 12 years to 20 years, and allowing a two year carry back.

3.      Re-enact the Illinois Research & Development tax credit.

Illinois businesses utilized this tax credit until it expired in December 2010.  Its' reinstatement would allow businesses that are doing legitimate research and development projects as defined in the law to qualify for a tax credit each year.  Our proposal would also add ethanol and biodiesel research as qualified R & D activities.

4.      Extend the life of existing Enterprise Zones by up to 20 years.

Most designated Enterprise Zones in Illinois are set to expire in the next ten years.  Our proposal would allow current municipalities around the state to extend the enterprise zones in their communities to ensure tax incentives to businesses that have located or choose to locate in these underdeveloped areas.

5.      Reduce the administrative costs and burdens involved with setting up and incorporating a Limited Liability Corporation in Illinois.

In Illinois, even the cost to set up a business is much higher.  We are proposing to reduce that fee from $750 to $100. The highest fee that any of our surrounding states currently charges is in Wisconsin at $130.

 

"This week we learned that our unemployment rate in Illinois is now almost 10%. That's unconscionable. Our neighboring states have launched aggressive campaigns to lure away our employers that provide jobs for our families. We need to fight back, and this plan is a good start," added Morthland.

"Illinois is blessed with hard working families and individuals, but they can't find work. We must become more jobs friendly. The future of our families and our communities depend upon it," stressed Representative Mitchell (R-Sterling). "The best way to attract and keep businesses here is for government to get out of their way and out of their pockets."

"When more people are working and re-investing in our communities, our economy is stronger.  For every point we reduce our unemployment rate, the state generates around $600 million in new revenue to fund state programs and services.  We can't afford not to enact these proposals," said Cross.

The package is supported by the National Federation of Independent Business and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.

"As Illinois faces rising unemployment rates and a recession that shows no signs of life, allowing small business owners to keep more of their own money makes sense," said Kim Clarke Maisch, NFIB/Illinois State Director. "NFIB has long supported either eliminating or allowing for a high exemption on the death tax, which gives small businesses a piece of mind that their hard work will be passed on to family members.  As well, reinstating the net operating loss will be very helpful to the many businesses that experienced significant losses during this ongoing recession."

A representative of the Illinois Farm Bureau was on hand to lend support to the provision to raise the estate tax.

#####

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