There are so many degrees of separation between Sam Johnson and H.R. 5297 that we can safely say that Sam Johnson had nothing to do with the passage of this bill to help small businesses. If anything, he hindered it by voting against it! In other words, Sam is about 180 degrees removed from actually helping small businesses in his district.
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from the Library of Congress:
H.R.5297
Title: Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010
Sponsor: Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] (introduced 5/13/2010) Cosponsors (20)
Related Bills: H.RES.1436, H.RES.1448, H.RES.1640
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 111-240 [GPO: Text, PDF]
House Reports: 111-499
If you go to this link you will see Sam Johnson’s “no” for H.R. 5297 and thus his own “tax break” for not reporting use of company-issued cell phones: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll375.xml
This bill, written by Democrats and Co-sponsored by Democrats [NOT SAM JOHNSON, NOT EVEN CO-SPONSORED BY SAM JOHNSON] and aimed to help small businesses, contains many tax incentives. Among them is one such incentive, H.R. 690, that Johnson wrote back in January.
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However, it is no leap of the imagination to think that when people read these headlines below or when they read them re-told by The Dallas Morning News “reporters” that they will jump to the conclusion that Sam Johnson wrote H.R. 5297 Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 and in so doing that he represents small businesses. But the TRUTH is that Sam Johnson voted against H.R. 5297 and Small Businesses–even though the legislation did contain most of the small piece of legislation that Johnson introduced in January of this year, H. R. 690. And furthermore, Johnson’s H.R. 690 hardly does anything for small businesses—at least not the mom and pop shops in his district of less than 20 employees. The crux of Johnson’s phone fix is this: Firms will also get relief from the Tax Code Section 280F requirement that they account for how much of their employees’ company-issued cell phone use is for personal calls in order to deduct the full cost of the phones.
Do whut? Exactly my point too!
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FROM THE “FRIENDS” OF SAM JOHNSON [most likely paid for by Sam Johnson as well]
“Sam Johnson tax bill becomes law”
With a Democrat-controlled House, Senate and White House
Defying the odds and confounding the critics, today common-sense tax legislation authored by U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) became law when the President enacted the Small Business Jobs Act. The Act included Johnson’s cell phone fix, H.R. 690, the MOBILE (Modernize Our Bookkeeping In the Law for Employee’s) Cell Phone Act. “
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NOW, YOU TELL ME PEOPLE: How many mom and pop under 10 employees operations give a flying flip about getting relief from accounting for how much of their employee’s company issued cell phone use is for personal calls?
How many mom and pop operations of less than 10 employees even issue their employees cell phones?
PLEASE. COME INTO THE REAL WORLD FOLKS. Johnson’s little attachment H.R. 690 does not benefit small businesses–it benefits large Wall Street corporations--not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. However to pass it off as benefiting small businesses of mom and pops under 10 employees is stretching it more than just a bit.
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Sam Johnson wrote the little H.R. 690 for Wall Street corporations back in January of this year. It got shuffled back to a committee shortly thereafter. It was likely only drug out to see the light of day as part of some deal making in the House to get votes for H.R. 5297.
BUT FOR THE TEA PARTY SUPPORTERS AND THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS TO TRY TO TWIST THIS ABSURDITY INTO A STORY THAT SAM JOHNSON IS HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES IS A DELIBERATE MISREPRESENTATION OF THE TRUTH.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS OWES ITS READERS AN APOLOGY. But don’t hold your breath waiting for one.
