Sen. Grassley Issues Floor Remarks on Tax Extenders and Disaster Tax Relief
"For several months now, we have been working to extend a set of tax provisions that expired at the end of 2017, commonly known as the tax extenders.
"We have also been working to enact bipartisan disaster tax relief to help families and businesses that continue to recover from the disasters that occurred across the country in 2018.
"The best and most timely option to advance these provisions is with the government funding deal being worked on this week.
"There have been press reports stating that if the extenders are not part of the funding bill, they are "dead for good." I reject that conclusion.
"Regardless of what happens on a bill to keep the government open, I will continue to fight to get the extenders enacted and work toward a longer-term resolution.
"Since the House has failed to send us a government funding bill that includes the tax extenders and disaster tax-relief provisions, look for me to introduce a bill addressing these tax matters here in the
"When these provisions were extended early last year, the tax extenders had been expired for more than a year already.
"Now we are back in the same place, with these tax incentives now expired for more than a year again.
"It seems to me that the right thing to do now is to extend these provisions for 2018 and 2019.
"Why two years? First, we need to provide clarity for taxpayers trying to file their 2018 returns, which are due in just over eight weeks.
"Even though the year has obviously ended, our repeated extension of many of these provisions has led individuals and businesses to assume we will do so again.
"And they relied on that last year to make business decisions. In other words, people did what we wanted them to do when these provisions were created.
"We should not retroactively punish them now for that.
"Second, we should provide certainty for this year to give us room to take a long-term view on all of the tax extenders.
"I want to stress that I want to find a long-term resolution to these provisions so we can stop the repeated extensions of temporary tax policy.
"But while we work on that, these tax extenders are intended to be incentives. And to be successful, they need to be in effect when individuals and businesses are considering whether to make the investment required to take advantage of the particular tax provision.
"I want to go into more detail on what the tax extenders are. The number has changed over time, but there are currently around 26 temporary tax provisions that expired at of the end of 2017.
"These include provisions incentivizing alternative fuels, electric vehicles, and the construction of energy-efficient homes.
"There are provisions that incentivize the production of coal on Indian lands, provide an exclusion from income of the discharge of indebtedness on a principal residence, and provide a deduction for tuition and related expenses.
"Within these 26 provisions there is probably something that is very important to every senator on both sides of the aisle.
"I want to focus on two of them in particular.
"The first is the railroad track maintenance credit, otherwise known as the short line credit.
"This provision provides short-line railroads a credit equal to a percentage of the capital they invest to maintain and improve their tracks.
"Short-line railroads are small business railroads that are vital to keeping rural and small-town America connected to the national economy.
"And they are a particularly important part of our transportation system to get agricultural and other products to market across the country and for export abroad.
"For example, the
"According to the American
"In a report prepared by
"This credit has been extended many times since it was first enacted on a temporary basis in 2004.
"Legislation introduced in the last
"Another tax extender that is very important, and particularly for
"Generally, this provision provides a tax credit of
"Plans for promoting environmental efficiency have been in the news lately, and an extension of the biodiesel tax credit is needed to keep more people working at their jobs in this industry.
"For example, I have learned that Western Iowa Energy, in
"In
"According to the
"A group of renewable energy stakeholders wrote to congressional leaders last week. Their letter reads, in part, "Allowing these tax incentives to lapse has created uncertainty for investors and the industry about the availability of these credits; jeopardizing the long-term investments necessary for the development of these biofuels."
"I ask unanimous consent that the entire letter I read from be printed in the record, along with an additional letter from members of the biodiesel supply chain, and a letter supporting extension of the
"The short line and biodiesel industries, and many other businesses and individuals, have used these provisions as
"But when they are not extended in a reasonable manner, jobs and the activity that
"I do not want my comments to imply that each tax extender should be permanently extended.
"In the long-term,
"Those decisions need to be made after we have resolved the immediate crisis that is being caused by the current lapse of these provisions for 2018.
"At the end of last
"I believe many Members support these proposals. They could be the solid foundation for a long-term package.
"We need to get past today, so we can chart the course for a reliable future for the tax extenders.
"As I said at the start, we also must not forget those American families and businesses that continue to recover from the terrible disasters that occurred last year.
"We have a series of disaster tax relief provisions that have passed on previous occasions with bipartisan support.
"This relief also should be included in the government funding bill this week.
"These disaster tax-relief provisions include reduced penalties and easier access to retirement funds so individuals and families can get back up on their feet faster and rebuild their lives.
"They also make it easier for disaster victims to claim personal casualty losses. And they suspend certain limitations on charitable contributions to encourage more donations for disaster relief.
"For businesses affected by the disasters, tax relief is available to help them retain employees while the business gets back up and running again.
"Similar disaster tax-relief provisions were included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, as well as the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017.
"Both of those bills passed with wide bipartisan margins. Let's continue that tradition and make sure last year's disaster victims don't have to wait any longer to access this important tax relief.
"I yield the floor."
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