Baucus: Time to Update International Tax Law

Ranking Senate Finance Committee member Max Baucus (D-MT) has proposed a seven-point program to adjust the tax code to make U.S.-based businesses better able to compete internationally. Baucus is prepared to offer bills regarding: transfer pricing rules, cost recovery periods for business assets, tax law on oversea tax havens, a new federal agency to encourage investment in education, energy, savings and trade, possible tax incentives for American students studying science or engineering, reworking trade rules and making the savers tax credit permanent. Baucus was less enthusiastic about President Bush's plan to expand health savings accounts, pointing out that low-income Americans may not be able to afford contributing to an HSA.