The ag organization joined more than 60 other groups asking Congress for the same extensions
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Several organizations from different sectors are asking lawmakers to pass important tax legislation.
The American Farm Bureau Federation joined multiple groups from the ag industry and abroad including the American Public Transportation Association and National Milk Producers Federation to call on Congress to extend tax provisions before Congress adjourns.
The tax rules in question are called “extenders” because Congress usually gives them short-term extensions rather than make the rules permanent.
The provisions scheduled to expire at the end of the year include:
- Three-year depreciation for racehorses two-years or younger,
- The new markets tax credit
- The work opportunity tax credit.
Congress must act to keep these rules valid for Americans, the groups said.
“Allowing these tax extenders to lapse at the end of 2020 would undermine their effectiveness, threaten thousands of jobs in the U.S. economy and cause needless uncertainty for taxpayers at a time when many are coping with severe economic hardship,” they wrote in a Nov. 9 letter.
Many of the rules also apply to agribusinesses as well.
Unless Congress extends the rules, craft breweries, wineries and distillers may be forced to pay higher taxes as early as April.
One ag industry organization is calling on its members to urge Congress to pass important tax law.
The Brewers Association, which represents U.S. craft brewers, is holding a day of action on Dec. 1 to ask lawmakers to pass the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act.
This law would make the current federal excise tax rates, which are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2020., permanent.
“If the current rates expire, most breweries across the U.S. will see their excise tax rates increase by 100%,” the Brewers Association said in a Nov. 24 release. “The effects could be devastating to an industry that has been severely impacted by COVID-19.”
Farms.com has contacted industry organizations about how a lack of extensions could affect the sector.