Hot Off the Press

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Happy New Year--Fiscal Cliff Averted

Late last night (Jan. 1) the House passed H.R. 8, titled “The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012,” which passed the Senate earlier in the day.  Here’s a summary, provided by the National Association of Manufacturers  

Individual Rates—Many manufacturers organized as S-corporations or other flow-through entities, which pay taxes at the individual level, will not see their tax rates increase. The plan makes permanent current lower tax rates for individuals making less than $400,000 and families with incomes below $450,000.

Estate Tax—Similarly, the agreement avoids a significant increase in the estate-tax burden on small manufacturers. While the estate tax rate will increase from 35 percent to 40 percent, the current $5 million exemption will remain in place and be indexed for inflation.

Dividends and Capital Gains—While the compromise does raise investment tax rates to 20 percent for those above the $400,000/$450,000 thresholds, the top tax rates on dividends and capital gains remain the same, and current rates remain in place for taxpayers at lower income levels.

Tax Extenders—The compromise includes seamless extensions through 2013 of the R&D credit, the production tax credit and two important international provisions—the “look-through” rules and deferral for active financing income.

Bonus Depreciation—In addition, the 50-percent bonus depreciation in place during 2012 is extended for another year.

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Finished-Steel Imports Up Notably in 2012

The American Iron and Steel Institute, Washington, D.C., reports that the United States imported slightly less than 2.7 million net tons of steel in November, including nearly 2 million net tons of finished steel (up 2 percent and down 6 percent, respectively, from October). Year-to-date finished-steel imports are up 18 percent over the same period in 2011. Learn more at www.steel.org/.

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Investment Firm Acquires Precision Metal and Plastic Fabricator

Tenere, Inc., a custom stamper and fabricator with facilities in Lakewood, CO, and in Dresser, St. Croix Falls and Somerset, WI, has been acquired by The Watermill Group, a private-investment firm located in Lexington, MA. Tenere, which performs rapid prototyping and fabricates sheetmetal, injection-molded products and machined parts, also announced plans to add state-of-the-art equipment to its newest facility in St. Croix Falls, bring on a new CEO and hire as many as 100 new employees within the next year. Learn more at www.tenere.com/.

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