WASHINGTON - Bechtel, which hired a former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service to lobby on its behalf, has won support from Republicans in the House for what could be a generous new tax break.
The break, which was to be taken up Tuesday by the House Ways and Means Committee, was originally intended to help shore up U.S. factory jobs by reducing the tax rate for domestic manufacturers to 32 percent from 35 percent.
But the bill now includes a provision sought by Bechtel, an engineering conglomerate that is one of the biggest recipients of government contracts for Iraqi reconstruction, that would reduce taxes on "architectural and engineering services."
The new provision would also benefit Halliburton, whose previous chief executive was Vice President Dick Cheney and which now has a Pentagon contract to repair Iraqi oil facilities. Another company, Fluor, which recently won a $102 million contract to work on Iraq's electrical system, would receive a tax reduction as well.
The value of the tax break remains unclear, and there was confusion on Monday over whether it would apply to profits earned on the billions of dollars of work that the companies do outside the United States.
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http://www.iht.com/articles/115441.html
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