ASLRRA: House bill includes short-line tax credit

House Democrats yesterday unveiled a bill that would renew several expired and expiring tax incentives, including the short-line 45G maintenance tax credit.

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), who chairs the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, introduced the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 (H.R. 3301), which would extend the short-line tax credit for three years through Dec. 31, 2020.

Since 2005, the short-line maintenance tax incentive provided a credit of 50 cents for each dollar short lines and regionals spent on track and bridge improvements, capped at $3,500 per mile. The credit has been extended over the years and last expired Dec. 31, 2017. Short lines have relied on the credit to increase their investment in their rail infrastructure, according to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), which has long championed the measure.

ASLRRA is pleased that the measure has been included in H.R. 3301, said Chuck Baker, the association's president.

"We are eager to work with Congress as they continue the process to finalize legislation that can assure investment in rail infrastructure on a proactive basis," Baker said in a prepared statement. "This investment is good for the American economy, it protects the environment, and it enhances surface transportation safety."