(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on June 1, 2010.)
On Friday, the House passed the Tax Extenders Act of 2009 (H.R. 4213), which includes a one-year (tax-year 2010) extension of the Section 45G railroad track maintenance credit that expired at 2009’s end.
The House had originally passed H.R. 4213 in December and the Senate amended the bill in March. The Senate likely will consider the House-approved bill sometime later this month and could amend the bill again, which would require another House vote.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and its lobbyists are seeking a multi-year extension of the tax credit, but have been pursuing the one-year extension through the extenders bill to make Section 45G available to short lines in tax-year 2010. First enacted in 2005, Section 45G enables short lines to claim a tax credit of 50 cents for every dollar spent on infrastructure improvements, up to a cap of $3,500 per mile of owned or leased track.