Tax Reform

Reaffirmed August 2017

Support Renewal of Tax Extenders and Support Comprehensive Tax Reform

While Congress worked to address budget and appropriations concerns at the end of 2013, it did not pass legislation extending the numerous tax provisions (more than 55) that faced expiration – commonly known as “tax extenders.” Among the provisions utilized and of interest to our distributors and manufacturers are:

• The Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit; and, Business Expensing (Section 179). The dollar limits for Sec. 179 expenses dropped on Jan. 1 to $25,000, with a $200,000 investment ceiling (from $500,000, with a $2.5 million investment ceiling).
• We urge Congress to retroactively extend the expired tax extenders before the end of the year, as a bridge to comprehensive tax reform and to provide certainty to American businesses.
• Our current tax system is fundamentally flawed and discourages economic growth. Because distributors and manufacturers are of critical importance to our nation’s economy, any effort to rewrite the federal tax code should result in a balanced, fiscally responsible plan.
• We need comprehensive tax reform that simplifies the code and both reduces the corporate tax rate and includes permanent lower rates for businesses organized as flow-through entities.
• It is also vitally important that a strengthened and permanent research and development incentive be included in any tax measure considered by Congress, including as part of any tax reform initiative. We believe a robust and permanent R&D tax credit is critical to competitiveness, innovation and U.S. jobs.
• To help small businesses, higher limits and the inclusion of real property improvements should be made permanent. This will allow small businesses to plan for the future and expense additional investments, and therefore, enable those businesses to expand and create new jobs.