WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced pro-growth legislation to help small businesses, farmers, and ranchers purchase the equipment and supplies they need to build their operations and support their employees.
The Small Business Growth Act (S. 2609) will reduce tax bills for business owners looking to purchase equipment—including farming equipment, office furniture, manufacturing tools, machinery, commercial vehicles, and more. This will free up resources to go toward employee salaries, materials, and other critical business expenditures.
“Small businesses are the backbone of Wyoming’s economy. We want to make sure they have every opportunity to succeed,” said Barrasso. “Right now, they face an uphill battle with record high inflation and a mountain of new regulations. The Small Business Growth Act will go a long way in helping Wyoming’s farmers, ranchers and small businesses expand their operations, better compete and hire more workers.”
Cosponsors of this legislation include Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mike Braun (R-IN), and James Risch (R-ID).
The Small Business Growth Act has received support from the Wyoming Farm Bureau, Wyoming Stock Growers Association, Wyoming Bankers Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Federation of Independent Business, Small Business Association, National Association of Manufacturers, American Farm Bureau, Small Business Investor Alliance, National Restaurant Association, Associated General Contractors of America, American Hotel & Lodging Association, National Roofing Contractors Association, National Tooling and Machining Association, S-Corp Association, American Rental Association, American Mold Builders Association, Forging Industry Association, North American Die Casting Association, Precision Machined Products Association, and Precision Metalforming Association.
“The Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation appreciates Senator Barrasso’s commitment to helping ease the tax burden on the agriculture industry in Wyoming and across the nation,” said WY Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Ken Hamilton. “It’s important to help maintain the profitability in agriculture to ensure Americans continue to benefit from abundant food. The provision to expand Section 179 of the US Tax Code would allow farmers and ranchers, and all small businesses, to write off the cost of equipment and machinery with a larger threshold for greater deductibility. In times of high inflation and other input challenges, it’s measures like these that help our nation’s farm and ranch families remain financially viable into the future.”
“The Wyoming Stock Growers Association commends Senator Barrasso for recognizing the value of the Sec. 179 exemption in enabling agricultural producers to make investments that are critical to the continued viability of their operations,” said WY Stock Growers Association Executive VP Jim Magagna. “Passage of the Small Business Growth Act will encourage the engagement of the next generation in Wyoming farming and ranching.”
“NFIB appreciates Senator Barrasso’s leadership in introducing the Small Business Growth Act, which would increase the thresholds and phaseouts for Section 179 small business expensing,” said Kevin Kuhlman, Vice President of Federal Government Relations, National Federation of Independent Business. “Section 179 small business expensing is a true small business tax incentive, encouraging small businesses to invest and grow by deducting the full cost of qualifying purchased, leased, or financed products and services. NFIB looks forward to working with Senator Barrasso on this and other important small business tax provisions.”
Background:
Currently, Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code allows small businesses and farms to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment, or certain depreciable business expenses. Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the deduction cap for Section 179 was lifted to $1 million from $500,000, which helped small businesses get the equipment they need to expand their operations.
The Small Business Growth Act will build on this success by lifting the deduction cap to $2.5 million with an increased phaseout threshold of $4 million. An expansion of Section 179 will ensure more taxpayers can utilize full and immediate expensing while Congress seeks to reverse the phaseout and expiration of bonus depreciation under Section 168(k) – one of TCJA’s most powerful provisions. With the uncertainty of Section 168(k), it’s important to keep the cost of capital low for Main Street America and our nation’s farmers.
Full text of the legislation can be found here.
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