Bailout Bill Tax Provisions – An Executive Summary

On Friday, October 3, the House passed H.R. 1424, the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008," a controversial piece of legislation that authorizes a $700 billion financial bailout package. The legislation, previously passed by the Senate on October 1, was immediately signed into law by the President, also on October 3. Attached to the legislation was a package of tax extenders, one year of alternative minimum tax relief, disaster tax relief and energy tax incentives. The legislation gives the United States Treasury authority to establish a Troubled Assets Relief Program ("TARP") to purchase up to $700 billion in troubled assets from financial institutions with significant U.S. operations. Many of the tax provisions included in the legislation were contained in proposed legislation previously considered by Congress this year. Among the more significant business-related tax provisions are the following:¹