WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- House and Senate leaders began negotiations Wednesday on a massive corporate tax overhaul bill, but prospects of quick approval remain thin.
House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., has vowed to clear the bill before the November elections, but with House and Senate negotiators beginning conference negotiations on a bill with a host of contentious provisions not related to the underlying bill -- such as a $10 billion buyout of federal subsidies for tobacco farmers -- their work is cut out for them.
While the underlying bill would repeal an export tax break that the World Trade Organization has deemed illegal and end European Union sanctions on imports of a host of U.S. products, the measure was expanded by lawmakers to include billions in breaks for corporate America and additional amendments aimed at shoring up support before the election, like the tobacco buyout.
