WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2015 - Farm groups
are pushing Congress to hurry up and renew critical tax breaks such as the
expanded Section 179 expensing allowance. Lawmakers say they are confident
there will be action on the tax extenders next month but it’s not clear how
long they will be kept in force.
Senate tax writers want to renew
the extenders for this year and keep them in effect through 2016, a
presidential election year. However, House Speaker Paul Ryan has favored making
many of the extenders permanent, including Section 179, while scrapping
others. Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch told Agri-Pulse he thinks the House will go along with the two-year
extension. “I think we’ve got to take care of this year and then next year …
Paul Ryan knows that, and others do too,” Hatch said.
But Ryan spokeswoman AshLee
Strong would say only that GOP leaders are working to get a consensus. “The
speaker is not predetermining the outcome.”
Farm groups say the Section 179
allowance and an expired 50-percent bonus depreciation provision are critical
to agriculture. “We appreciate the attention and debate given to tax extenders
throughout the year, but we are concerned that failing to act soon will cause
even more uncertainty for the agriculture industry,” the groups said in a letter
to congressional leaders.
The letter was signed by groups
representing a wide array of commodities from corn, cotton, rice and soybeans
to beef, pork, poultry, peanuts, fruits and vegetables, and even mushrooms.
The expired tax benefits also
include a $1-a-gallon tax credit for biodiesel, a $1.01-a-gallon incentive for
cellulosic ethanol, and the production tax credit that subsidizes wind power.
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