Bipartisan bills to provide permanent tax incentives for short-line railroads and craft breweries have moved a step closer to winning House passage this year.
Both the Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act of 2019 (H.R. 510) and the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2019 (H.R. 1175) qualify to go on the House consensus calendar because they received 290 cosponsors without any action by the House Ways and Means Committee. Once on the calendar for 25 legislative days, the bills must be scheduled for action by House leadership.
The BRACE Act, introduced by Ways and Means member Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., had generated 290 cosponsors as of October 22. It would make permanent the section 45G credit for railroad track maintenance.
“There are short-line railroads in nearly every community in America. We have built momentum for this bill, and we look forward to getting this across the finish line,” Blumenauer told Tax Notes.
The craft beverage bill, introduced by Ways and Means member Ron Kind, D-Wis., had generated 299 cosponsors as of October 22. That bill would reduce excise taxes on beer, wine, and distilled spirits and expand the wine excise tax credit for small domestic producers.
The Ways and Means Committee approved a tax extenders package in June along party lines, but the measure hasn’t made its way to the House floor yet. That bill included a provision to extend the short-line railroad credit for three years.
Separately, House and Senate lawmakers have been negotiating tax extender legislation for most of the year, but with time running out, the most likely vehicle for extenders and other tax changes is legislation required to extend government funding beyond November 21.
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