A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 with respect to offsetting positions in personal property.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to postpone the recognition of losses, for income tax deduction purposes, which are generated from the sale of certain types of personal property (commodities other than those used in a taxpayer's business, evidences of indebtedness, and other types of personal property other than stock in a corporation) which are offset by the purchase of other personal property from which a gain is recognized. Provides that any loss which exceeds gain from the holding of such offsetting positions may not be recognized for the period during which a taxpayer holds such offsetting positions, plus 30 days. Provides that the running of the required holding period for capital assets shall be tolled during the same period. Defines "offsetting positions" to mean that there is a substantial reduction of the taxpayer's risk of loss from holding any position with respect to personal property because the taxpayer also holds one or more other positions with respect to personal property (commonly referred to as a "straddle"). Creates a rebuttable presumption that two or more positions are offsetting if the positions are customarily treated as straddles, the aggregate margin requirement for such positions is lower than the sum of the margin requirement for each such position, or there are other factors, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to regulations, which indicate that such positions are offsetting. Provides that obligations of the United States, a State or local government, or a U.S. possession, issued on a discount basis and payable without interest in less than one year shall be treated as capital assets in determining tax consequences of gain or loss with respect to such obligations.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 10, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 10, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
CHARLES VANIK (D-OH) introduced it on June 10, 1980, and 21 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 17 Democrats, 3 Republicans, 1 independent.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 10, 1980, 16893 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16893 days ago, on June 10, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers