For business, one of the most popular provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was the full and immediate write off for the cost of new equipment. There are two problems with it, though: One, the immediate expensing provision begins to phase out after 2022, and, two, leaseholders are not able to take advantage of it.
U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) wants to fix both problems. He has introduced the ALIGN Act, which would makes permanent the full and immediate expensing provision of the 2017 tax reform law.
“Tax reform’s most pro-growth feature was allowing businesses to immediately write off purchases of new equipment. It led to workers becoming more productive, which resulted in higher wages and more jobs,” said Senator Toomey. “My bill to make full expensing permanent would give manufacturers and businesses of all sizes certainty around investment planning and it would keep our economy humming. I thank my cosponsors for recognizing the economic benefits of full expensing and look forward to getting this measure passed and signed into law.”
Additionally, the ALIGN Act fixes an inadvertent drafting error in the tax code that prohibits restaurants, retailers, and other leaseholders from taking full advantage of the expensing rules, leading to cost-prohibitive renovation projects and stalled investments. Senator Toomey has introduced the standalone bipartisan Restoring Investment in Improvements Act with Senator Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and 60 other Republican and Democratic senators to make this particular fix. At Wednesday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin called this measure Treasury’s “number one request to get a Congressional fix.”
Economic Impact – The Tax Foundation estimates that in the long run, permanent full expensing will increase overall GDP by 0.9%, wage growth by 0.8%, capital stock by 2.2%, and full-time equivalent jobs by 172,300. More economic information on the ALIGN Act is available here.
The ALIGN Act is co-sponsored by Senators Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Shelley Moore Capito (R- W.Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). A full list of the 25 groups supporting the ALIGN Act is available here.
The full text of the ALIGN Act is available here.
