UPDATED: New House bill includes 45G extension

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
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Chuck Baker, President, ASLRRA.

The House Ways & Means Committee on June 20 favorably reported-out H.R. 3301,the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019. The 45G railroad infrastructure maintenance tax credit is covered in Section 112, which extends 45G to Jan. 1, 2021 and retroactively to Jan. 1, 2018. (45G expired on Dec. 31, 2017.)

“The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) applauds the work of the House Ways and Means Committee for favorably reporting-out H.R. 3301. This bill provides certainty for a number of tax provisions, including the short line railroad maintenance tax credit through 2020, enabling significant infrastructure investment incentives and the ability to forward-plan complex and long-term projects. We look forward to working with the House and the Senate to move this tax extenders legislation to a positive conclusion,” said ASLRRA President Chuck Baker. “Providing certainty for business investment is good public policy, allowing railroads to invest to improve safety, protect the environment, and provide efficient transportation for thousands of agricultural, energy, and manufacturing customers in small town and rural America.”

In a related development, ASLRRA reports that gains were made in both the House and Senate on co-sponsors for the BRACE Act (Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act of 2019), which would permanently extend the 45G tax credit. The extension applies to expenditures paid or incurred during tax years beginning after 2017. Assignments of miles of railroad track, including related expenditures, for tax years ending after 2017 must be treated as timely if they are made pursuant to a written agreement entered into within 90 days of the enactment of the bill.

In the House, HR 510 was up to 221 co-sponsors, and in the Senate, S 203 was up to 50 co-sponsors. ASLRRA reports that the Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell lobbying team “was busy with meetings on Capitol Hill all week to continue the forward progress of the bill.”

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