LOTT, BREAUX WORK ON U.S. SHIPPING TAX REFORM
A bipartisan effort is under way by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott,
R-Miss., and Sen. John Breaux, D-La., on a long-awaited bill to reform shipping tax in the
U.S.
The legislation, expected to be unveiled by mid-May, will probably
restore "Subpart F" — a provision allowing U.S. owners of non-U.S. flag
ships to defer taxes on profits reinvested in their shipping businesses.
Removal of that provision in 1986 has decimated the U.S.-owned,
non-U.S.-flag fleet.
To win labor support, the bill is expected to require tax-deferred money
to be reinvested in U.S.-flag ships.