45G tax credit gaining support
Written by Andrew Corselli
The bills to make the short line railroad 45G tax credit permanent, HR 510 and S 203, have recently gained momentum.
Since industry members met with hundreds of Congressional Offices on Railroad Day on Capitol Hill on May 8, the House bill now has 202 co-sponsors and the Senate bill has 40 co-sponsors.
“The short line 45G tax credit is simply good public policy—putting more private dollars to work to fund infrastructure rehabilitation and safety improvements on small business railroads that provide the first and last mile of the U.S. freight rail system,” said Chuck Baker, President, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA). “The short line tax credit has garnered broad support in both parties and in both houses of Congress—in the House, there are 101 Democrats and 101 Republicans on record saying this is a program that continues to make sense and should be made permanent. On the House Ways & Means Committee in particular, more than half of the committee members, including 14 Democrats and eight Republicans, are on record with that same message. It sends a strong message to leadership that the time to act is now. We are also encouraged to see the Senate Finance Committee call for action on expired credits, creating task forces for the review and evaluation of the various expired tax provisions, including the short line credit.”
The 45G tax credit is a federal income tax credit for track maintenance conducted by short lines and regional railroads in the U.S. The credit granted an amount equal to 50% of qualified track maintenance expenditures and other qualifying railroad infrastructure projects.
