2010 Tax Relief Act Creates New, Temporary, Rules

Author: Judson M. Stein and Jodi C. Lipka View article On December 17, 2010, the President signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the “Tax Relief Act”). The Tax Relief Act was passed by Congress on December 16. The Tax Relief Act is an extensive tax package that includes, among many other items, an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for two years, estate tax relief, a two-year “patch” of the alternative minimum tax (AMT), a two-percentage-point cut in employee-paid payroll taxes and in self-employment tax for 2011, new incentives to invest in machinery and equipment, and a host of retroactively resuscitated and extended tax breaks for individuals and businesses