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Tom Reed is pushing for small businesses to expand infrastructure and create jobs. To give small businesses that freedom and flexibility to improve, Reed is co-sponsoring the America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014, a bill that makes permanent the long-standing Section 179 tax provision for small business expensing. The bill passed out of the Ways and Means Committee Tuesday on a bipartisan vote.

“Our goal is to give America’s job creators more certainty and more control over their own financial situation so they can make investments and grow,” Reed said. “Making this pro-jobs, pro-growth policy permanent is fair to small businesses which suffer when tax policies are extended for only one or two years at a time. By giving farmers and small businesses the ability to immediately deduct the cost of new equipment, they can better manage their cash flow and make investments in new jobs and growth that otherwise might have been put on hold.”

Just last week Reed sat down with small business owners, farmers and chamber of commerce members in Western New York to talk about the biggest roadblocks to growth. Many pointed to the uncertainty that prevents them from planning and budgeting on a long-term basis. At a meeting with farmers at a local dairy farm, the concern was raised that if Congress didn’t make the policy permanent, farmers wouldn’t be able to afford costly equipment upgrades.  

The small business provision outlined in Section 179 of the tax code allows farmers and small business owners to immediately deduct the cost of investments and upgrades in property, equipment and software instead of depreciating those costs over time. Section 179 has been a part of the tax code since 1958, with expensing limitations varying over the years.

For tax years 2010 through 2013, the expensing limit for small businesses was $500,000. That expensing limitation expired at the end of last year, drastically dropping the limit for tax years after 2013 to $25,000. Under the legislation Reed supports, Section 179 of the tax code would become permanent at the 2013 levels, giving small business owners a greater opportunity to invest in their businesses.

“The permanent policy encourages growth by empowering small businesses to become more efficient with upgraded equipment, newer technology and better able to add more employees,” Reed said. “Improving our economic climate means caring for our small business owners who are our nation’s strongest job creators.”

“America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act gets to the heart of the need for serious tax reform. This bill would permanently extend the 2013 level of Section 179 small business expensing limitations and provide additional stability for New York’s family farmers who would be able to expense costly purchases of farm machinery and equipment without serious tax penalties. In turn, this will support the growth of our farming community and rural economy. Rep. Reed listened to the concerns of farmers in his district, and New York Farm Bureau appreciates his leadership on this issue,” said Dean Norton, President of New York Farm Bureau.

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