Position Papers
3% Government Withholding Tax
Issue: This 3% Government Withholding Tax applies to the total contract, not to the net revenue generated from the project which unfairly penalizes construction contractors.
Position: The masonry industry opposes the 3% withholding tax. We urge Members of Congress to support H.R. 1023 (Meek-Herger) bill and S. 2394 (Coleman-Collins) to immediately repeal this overreaching new requirement.
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Alternative Minimum Tax
Issue: Under current law, Alternative Minimum Tax coverage will skyrocket, by 2010 affecting 33 million taxpayers - about one-third of all tax returns, up from 1 million in 1999.
Position: The masonry industry supports repeal of the AMT or appropriate indexing of the AMT to its original date of enactment or the date of enactment of a new AMT bill.
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Bid Shopping
Issue: Bid shopping is a questionable practice that takes place when a general contractor attempts to pad his profit margin for shopping for lower-priced subcontractors than those listed in the original bid.
Position: The masonry industry believes it is time for the federal government to use its considerable power to end these deceptive practices that cheat the taxpayer and supports legislation requiring general contractors bidding on federal projects to list up front the subcontractors and their bids they plan to use on a project and then justify any subsequent changes.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Issue: The construction industry faces a growing problem of a shortage of skilled labor; some of this insufficiency is being addressed by the immigrant workforce.
Position: The masonry industry supports a comprehensive approach that includes provisions to secure our nation's borders and creates a temporary guest worker program that meets the demand for labor and a process for addressing the undocumented currently employed in the U.S.
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Letters to Congress
Immigration Reform letter to Member of Congress
Immigration Reform; Social Security No-Match Rule letter to Member of Congress
Estate Tax
Issue: Businesses, large and small, which employ the majority of the American workers, deserve a realistic and reasonable chance of continuing in business after the estates of deceased owners are settled.
Position: The masonry industry favors permanent repeal of the estate tax or the establishment of a reasonable exemption that gives employers and workers an opportunity to continue operations.
Letters to Congress
Estate Tax letter to President George W. Bush
Military Construction (MilCon)
Issue: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), faced with limited funding for military construction (MilCon) and charged with staying abreast of a rapidly transforming military, is favoring low initial cost construction.
Position: The masonry industry urges Congress to direct the Armed Services to incorporate life cycle cost and other durability considerations heavily into design and construction protocols.
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Letters to Congress
Military Construction letter to Representative Neil Abercrombie
Misclassification of Employees as lndependent Contractors
Issue: Some contractors in the construction industry are deliberately misclassifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees to avoid payroll taxes, insurance premiums and other employment expenses on order to boost company profits
Position: The masonry industry urges federal agencies to take steps to improve enforcement of current laws at both the state and federal level.
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National Engery Policy
Issue: Rapidly increasing oil prices are putting a huge strain on the U.S. industrial base, which in turn negatively affects the average consumer.
Position: The masonry industry favors a broad-based approach to national energy policy, ranging from the responsible development of traditional sources of energy, e.g., oil, gas, nuclear, and coal, to investment, development and support of new sources, e.g., passive solar and renewable energy efficient technologies.
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Rebounding the Highly Skilled Workforce
Issue: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts a spike in mason retirements in the next decade which will exacerbate the shortage. Insufficient numbers of new masons will enter the field to offset retirements, much less keep pace with growing demands for new houses, industrial facilities, schools, hospitals and offices.
Position: The masonry industry strongly encourages support of full budget allocations and appropriations for Perkins Act vocational and technical training programs, with special emphasis on investment in trades in greatest need for new workers according to BLS estimates.
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School Construction
Issue: According to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education and Statistics (NCES), "three-quarters of schools reported needing to spend some money on repairs, renovations, and modernizations to put the school's onsite building into overall good condition."
Position: The masonry industry encourages Congress to pass legislation to address the need for updated and new infrastructure of America's public schools.
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Workplace Crystalline Silica
Issue: OSHA continues to designate issuing a workplace crystalline silica regulation as a top agency priority at a time when silica Personal Exposure Limits (PELS) are already in place.
Position: The masonry industry urges Congress to ensure that OSHA's regulatory focus is not swayed by bad science on the matter of workplace exposure to crystalline silica.
