(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on May 26, 2010.)
Yesterday, Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) addressed the House and voiced support for extending short lines’ tax credits, which expired at 2009’s end.
Congress needs to “find a responsible way to extend the tax credit,” such as by approving the Short Line Rehabilitation Tax Credit bill (H.R. 1132), she said. The legislation would extend short lines’ Section 45G railroad track maintenance credit for three years until Dec. 31, 2012.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) and its lobbyists are trying to get the tax credit extended for at least one year (2010) through the Tax Extenders Act of 2009 (H.R. 4213), which would extend various pieces of legislation governing federal tax credits that either have expired or soon will expire. The measure could reach a House vote tomorrow, ASLRRA officials said in an item included in the association’s “Views & News” newsletter issued yesterday.
“However, the path to this point has been politically problematic, and a vote is far from certain,” they said. “The political difficulties surrounding this bill are not related to short lines or the Section 45G extension. Instead, H.R. 4213 includes many additional provisions, including extensions of unemployment insurance, foreign tax provisions, changes to existing health benefits and many other provisions that are variously supported or opposed by numerous factions in Congress.”
Monies associated with the Section 45G extension represent less than one-tenth of one percent of H.R. 4213’s total estimated cost, according to the ASLRRA.