(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on April 7, 2011.)
On March 29, Sens. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) introduced the Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2011 (S. 672), which would extend the short-line tax credit for six years through Dec. 31, 2017. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.
A companion bill to H.R. 721, which was introduced in the House Feb. 15 by Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), S. 672 also would make qualified infrastructure expenditures by short lines created after 2005 and before 2011’s end eligible for the Section 45G tax credit. S. 672 and H.R. 721 so far have garnered 16 and 31 co-sponsors, respectively.
In December, the passage of the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 extended the short-line tax credit for one year through 2011. Originally enacted in January 2005, the Section 45G provision enables regionals and short lines to claim a tax credit of 50 cents for every dollar spent on infrastructure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.
The full story is on the Progressive Railroading website.