Several key telecom trade associations united before Congress to back the reinstatement of the bonusrndepreciation provision of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. In a Monday letter to Senaternand House leaders of both parties, the executives leading USTelecom, CTIA, NCTA, NTCA—The RuralrnBroadband Association, The Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, the TelecommunicationsrnIndustry Association and PCIA-The Wireless Infrastructure Association told Congress they supportrnefforts to comprehensively update the corporate tax code, but “we believe that the business certaintyrnneeded for sustained domestic job growth during the nation’s economic recovery requires renewal forrn2014 of the bonus depreciation provision,” which expired Dec. 31. Any overhaul of the tax code wouldrn— “it appears increasingly possible” — not potentially take effect until Jan. 1, 2015, they said. Until a taxrnoverhaul is effective, “extending bonus depreciation is essential to maintaining the nation’s economic momentum,"rnthey said (http://bit.ly/1djGIgh). "In order to plan with certainty, companies must know as soonrnas possible what the tax rules for capital investment and job creation in America will be in 2014." Thernbonus depreciation provision allowed businesses making domestic investments to “receive substantial taxrnbenefits,” according to USTelecom’s press release. That benefit, as part of the 2012 act, amounts to 50-rnpercent bonus depreciation for such investment. Some observers have argued the provision should stayrnexpired. “Bonus depreciation is costly, particularly if policymakers make it permanent,” Chuck Marr, directorrnof federal tax policy at the nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, wrote in a blog postrnMonday (http://bit.ly/KVZtvn). “While a one-year extension would cost about $5 billion, the ten-yearrncost of a permanent extension would be about $280 billion.” He said the provision was intended as temporary,rndating back to the economic recession of 2008, and criticized it for “low bang for the buck.”
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