Construction employment in August remained below the levels reached before the pre-pandemic peak in February 2020 in 39 states, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data released today. Association officials urged the House of Representatives to quickly pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill to avoid further cutbacks in construction activity and jobs.
On Sept. 13, House Democrats released legislative text detailing significant tax increases to pay for their upwards of $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill. Those tax increases include but are not limited to: (1) increasing the top rate to 26.5% from 21% for corporations with incomes of $5 million; (2) creating a new 3% surtax on individuals/pass-through businesses with modified adjusted gross income exceeding $5 million; (3) increasing the top tax rate for pass-through businesses to 46.4 percent (39.6 percent top individual tax bracket + 3.8 percent net investment income tax (NIIT) + 3 percent surtax); (4) increasing the top capital gains rate to 31.8 percent (25 percent statutory rate + 3.8 percent NIIT + 3 percent surtax); and (5) capping the maximum Section 199A qualified business income deduction for high income individuals. The proposal also includes registered apprenticeship requirements, among other things, for entities to receive certain construction development tax incentives largely used in private construction markets. AGC opposes these proposals and will fight their enactment, as they would hinder economic recovery and growth.
On July 9, President Biden unveiled his Path Out of the Pandemic Plan, which implements a six-pronged national strategy to combat the surge of the Delta variant. One of the key aspects of the plan is a requirement that OSHA issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)—reportedly within a matter of weeks—that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. While there are few details to make a completely informed decision on the potential impacts of the ETS on the construction industry, AGC has communicated concerns to OSHA as it relates to the practical impacts such a mandate may have on the industry amidst a workforce shortage, issues relating to controlling contractor responsibilities and recordkeeping obligations, availability of test kits, and laboratory capacity for analyzing the anticipated increase in testing that may result from such a mandate, among other things.
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The prices contractors pay for construction materials continued to increase in August while many firms report struggles to get those materials delivered on time, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials urged Washington officials to take steps to help address the challenges impacting the entire supply chain and driving the price escalations.
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On September 9, the House Committee on Ways and Means, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, began consideration of its share of President Biden’s American Families Plan. The final price tag of the overall legislation is still being negotiated by the House and Senate, as moderate Democrats, such as Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, are seeking to scale back the size and scope of the legislation. This will have significant bearing on how large the overall package of tax increases will be that the Ways and Means Committee will consider.
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