Katrina bill excluding golf courses, clubs from tax benefits.Lawmakers who passed a bill that excludes golf courses and clubs from tax benefits and other relief measures extended to Gulf Coast businesses affected by recent hurricanes "do not understand the golf industry and the contributions golf course owners and operators make to local communities," said Mike Hughes Mike Hughes (b. November 17, 1974) is an Canadian professional wrestler who has competed on the North American independent promotions throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s as a co-founder and mainstay of Real Action Wrestling [1] , CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA NGCOA National Golf Course Owners Association ). The bill (Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005) was passed by the Senate on Dec. 16 and created approximately $8 billion in benefits and relief. The compromise bill was intended to satisfy House conservatives who did not want tax benefits going to businesses defined as "any private or commercial golf course, country club, massage parlor massage parlor n. An establishment that offers therapeutic massage. massage parlor Sexology An establishment that advertises nonsexual manipulation and massage services, which may be provided by 'sex workers' who, for , hot tub facility, suntan facility, liquor store, or gambling establishment." "To be singled out like this--as though the owners and operators of golf courses in this region are not part of the mainstream business community and do not make significant contributions to local economies--is outrageous," said Hughes, whose association represents approximately 6,000 golf course owners and operators. "Golf is a centerpiece for the tourism industry in the Gulf Coast region and is responsible for generating millions of dollars in revenues and thousands of jobs. A golf course is no different than a restaurant or movie theater when it comes to hurricane relief," Hughes said. Sue Wegrzyn, president and CEO of the National Club Association, added: "Clubs across the country have hired people displaced by these disasters, and members of country clubs have stepped up to the plate in fundraising drives on behalf of or to support relief agencies. It is disappointing Congress chose to make these distinctions." At stake for the golf and club industry was access to tax breaks that included accelerated depreciation Accelerated Depreciation Any method of depreciation used for accounting or income tax purposes that allows greater deductions in the earlier years of the life of an asset. Notes: The straight-line depreciation method spreads the cost evenly over the life of an asset. , deduction of demolition and clean-up costs, operating loss operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. carryback, and an employee retention tax credit for employers in the disaster zones. Hughes and Wegrzyn said the NGCOA and NCA (Network Computing Architecture) An architecture from Oracle for developing applications within a networked computing environment. It provides a three-tier distributed environment based on CORBA that uses program components known as "cartridges. would continue to work with congressional members to educate them on the important role clubs and golf courses play in their communities. |
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