The Tax Relief Act of 2010-Finally!
By Christopher J. Loughran, Shareholder, Director of Tax
Overview
After much anticipation, the Tax Relief Act of 2010 (the Act) was signed into law by President Obama on December 17, 2010. The most widely reported items included in the Act were the two year extension of existing income tax rates through December 31, 2012, and the implementation of an estate and gift tax regime for 2011 and 2012 that is more favorable than what would have kicked in effective January 1, 2011. Some of the other important features of the legislation are: enhanced bonus depreciation and expensing elections; extension of the research credit; a two year alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch; and the temporary extension of many other tax benefits. We have provided some detail for the key provisions.