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Wall Street Bailout Bill and Bicycling
By spokesman | October 2, 2008
Earlier this week, the Senate passed the Wall Street Bailout Bill. The bill had grown from the original 3 page plan developed by the Bush administration to the 1o6 page bill voted down by the House Of Representatives to the 451 page version that the Senate passed last night.
How did it grow so large? Primarily through the addition of provisions to ensure better oversight and get more votes. One provision that was added was a “Transportation Fringe Benefit For Bicycle Commuters.” I am not kidding - the actual text from the bill is below. Many people are upset over the bill. The average taxpayer is not happy about bailing out Wall Street investment bankers. I hope that the new provisions in the bill for bicycle commuters don’t result in a backlash where the general public begins to resent cyclists as much as they resent Wall Street.
The following paragraphs in italics are the bicycle commuting paragraphs from the Bailout Bill. It is a bit confusing to follow because it is primarily a set of amendments to another bill. However it essentially provides employers with $20 a month tax relief per bicycle commuting employee to cover employer reimbursement for expenses incurred by the employee “for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.” Maybe this was added to the bill to help out Lehman Brothers brokers who lost their limos.
SEC. 211. TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE COMMUTERS.(a) In General- Paragraph (1) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following: `(D) Any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.(b) Limitation on Exclusion- Paragraph (2) of section 132(f) is amended by striking `and’ at the end of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting `, and’, and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: `(C) the applicable annual limitation in the case of any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.(c) Definitions- Paragraph (5) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following:`(F) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT-`(i) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT- The term `qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement’ means, with respect to any calendar year, any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.`(ii) APPLICABLE ANNUAL LIMITATION- The term `applicable annual limitation’ means, with respect to any employee for any calendar year, the product of $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during such year.`(iii) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING MONTH- The term `qualified bicycle commuting month’ means, with respect to any employee, any month during which such employee–
`(I) regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment, and
`(II) does not receive any benefit described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).’.
(d) Constructive Receipt of Benefit- Paragraph (4) of section 132(f) is amended by inserting `(other than a qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement)’ after `qualified transportation fringe’.
(e) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.
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Topics: Bikes and Politics, Bike Commuting |