TAX STRATEGY PATENTS
Last fall, the House passed a bill that prohibits patents on tax
planning methods. It passed as part of a larger patent reform bill (HR
1908), by a 220–175 vote.
The bill has also been introduced in the Senate. Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, crafted a bill (S 2369) specifically designed to ban tax strategy patents. The bill has 23 co-sponsors, including Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Barack Obama, D-Ill., Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. The bill largely follows the House-passed language and may be attached as an amendment to a larger bill later this year—possibly either the larger patent reform bill or a tax bill. In the meantime, the AICPA is continuing to seek additional co-sponsors for the bill.
