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Legislation aimed at extending the short-line tax credit recently stalled in Congress because of one expected and one unexpected event. Long-time U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) passed away on June 28, less than a week before the July 4 recess.

Attention diverted to Byrd’s memorial service coupled with the holiday break meant the Tax Extenders Act of 2009 (H.R. 4213) — which proposes a one-year (tax-year 2010) extension of the Section 45G railroad track maintenance credit for short lines that expired at 2009’s end — was placed on temporary hold, according to an item in the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s (ASLRRA) newsletter issued last week.

In June, the Senate tried four times to pass H.R. 4213, which would extend various pieces of legislation governing federal tax credits. However, disputes over cost and provisions unrelated to the short-line tax credit held up progress, according to the ASLRRA.

H.R. 4213 needs 60 votes to pass via a procedural vote, and the bill at one time in June secured 58 votes, the associated said.

ASLRRA and its lobbyists are seeking a multi-year extension of the tax credit, but have been pursuing the one-year extension through H.R. 4213 to make Section 45G available to short lines in tax-year 2010. First enacted in 2005, Section 45G enables short lines to claim a tax credit of 50 cents for every dollar spent on infrastructure improvements, up to a cap of $3,500 per mile of owned or leased track.

For more information on efforts to extend the tax credit — and the repercussions the congressional delay is having on short lines’ infrastructure improvement plans — follow this link to read a news article (“Seeking credit where it’s [over] due”) that’s published in Progressive Railroading’s July issue.