The House Ways & Means Committee on May 29 marked up and favorably reported out six tax bills, including a nearly $300 billion proposal to permanently extend the currently expired "bonus depreciation" provision, which allows businesses to write off 50 percent of many capital investments right away
The House Ways & Means Committee on May 29 marked up and favorably reported out six tax bills, including a nearly $300 billion proposal to permanently extend the currently expired "bonus depreciation" provision, which allows businesses to write off 50 percent of many capital investments right away. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, a revenue loss of $600B is projected over 10 years from permanently extending "bonus depreciation" and the research and development tax credits.
All of the bills passed along party lines, with Democrats voting against the measures due to their lack of offsets and disagreement with Chairman Dave Camp's (R-MI) approach. Committee Democrats were also unsuccessful with amendments limiting the provisions to two years and offsetting the costs associated with some of the provisions. The amendments were ruled non-germane and were thus not considered.
Earlier this year, the Senate failed to overcome a procedural hurdle to a vote on its extenders that included all the expired provisions at once package. The Republicans, upset that they were not given a chance to introduce and debate amendments on the Senate floor, voted against a measure to end debate on the bill that would have allowed a vote on the package itself. Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) are reportedly still negotiating over amendments, but talks appear to be languishing. Republicans seem unwilling to give up on an amendment that would repeal the medical device tax enacted under the Affordable Care Act, a nonstarter for Democrats. Recent statements by the Senate Majority Leader indicate the Senate will not debate the tax extenders until after the August Recess.