National Groups Join AED Push for Depreciation Bonus Reinstatement

April 7, 2010 — More than 80 national organizations are supporting an effort by Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) to reinstate the depreciation bonus. The tax incentive, created as part of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Act and extended by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, allows companies that buy new equipment to cut their tax bills by writing off 50 percent of the cost in the first year. The depreciation bonus expired on Dec. 31, 2009.

In a letter to Congress, AED and its allies told lawmakers that, "reinstating bonus depreciation will help inoculate the economy against a backward slide in business capital investment in the months ahead, enhance the impact and benefits of other job creation legislation (e.g., infrastructure investment), encourage recovery in fragile, capital-intensive sectors of the economy (e.g., construction and manufacturing), and, most significantly, put Americans back to work."

 

The letter, coordinated by AED’s Washington office, was signed by a diverse group of trade associations representing a broad cross-section of the economy, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Associated General Contractors of America, the Aerospace Industries Association, the Edison Electric Institute, and the United States Telecom Association.

 

Word from the Hill is that the depreciation bonus may be included in a package of pro-growth tax legislation expected to move through the Senate in April, but there’s no guarantee that will happen, reports AED.