Senate Republicans block tax bill benefiting trucking

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans have effectively killed tax legislation with truck-friendly provisions that had bipartisan support when it passed the House in January.

The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, a $79 billion tax package, allows accelerated depreciation for capital investments and provides more generous deductions for interest expenses — provisions that extend expiring benefits that have helped truck owner-operators and which were included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by the Trump administration.

While the main thrust of the legislation is to extend the child tax credit, the “American Innovation and Growth” title of the bill extends the allowance for depreciation, amortization, or depletion in determining limitations on business interest deductions. It also extends 100% bonus depreciation and increases limitations on expensing depreciable business assets.

“The provisions related to expensing assets is exactly what is needed for someone buying a new truck or rig,” James Lucier, a tax policy expert and a principal with Capital Alpha Partners, a public policy research firm, told FreightWaves earlier this year. “It would be quite helpful for independent truckers and small businesses involved in trucking.”

But Republicans on Thursday voted down a motion to advance the bill, and it likely will not be brought up again.

“While Senate Republicans have been accused of playing politics, the timing of today’s vote, coupled with the lack of meaningful engagement since January to reach a compromise, confirms that the strategy was always a take it or leave it proposition in the Senate,” said Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, before the vote.

“This procedural vote doesn’t technically kill the bill, but it’s very unlikely to get additional floor time before the next Congress starts in January 2025,” Loren Smith, a transportation policy analyst with Skyline Policy Risk Group, told FreightWaves.

“There are other pressing matters Congress has to deal with before then, such as a continuing resolution on spending bills, confirming federal judges, and full year appropriations. However, everything in this bill is going to be looked at again closely in new legislation introduced next year as provisions within the 2017 Trump tax cuts expire.”

Alex Beene, a finance instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, said that while tax incentives benefiting individuals and businesses ordinarily would be a bipartisan win, “it’s an election year, and we’re seeing support fall more along party lines than the actual needs of taxpayers,” Beene told Newsweek.

“While there is certainly always a valid reason for concern over rushed legislation, the result of this bill not advancing could be less dollars for taxpayers.”

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• 12% new-truck tax panned at highway funding hearing
• Driver tax credits, truck parking capacity part of new bipartisan bill
• Congress approves incentive boost for EV truck purchases

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.

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