Washington, D.C. — On September 27, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act.
This bill includes an extension of the 50 percent bonus depreciation deduction for 2010, which was a priority for many of AGA’s members, and which Obama proposed in his budget. According to the White House, the bill will “provide two million businesses, large and small, with the ability to make new investments today and know they can receive a tax cut for this year by accelerating the rate at which they deduct capital expenditures.”
Additionally, the bill includes approximately $12 billion in tax relief for small businesses and a $30 billion lending fund that will be administered by the Treasury Department.
“Natural gas utilities throughout the country invested in capital projects to improve infrastructure because they expected bonus depreciation to be extended through 2010. Sadly, despite commitments to that effect, it expired at the end of 2009, leaving a wake of uncertainty,” said David Parker, AGA president and CEO. “We were thrilled to see President Obama sign this into law this week, which will finally alleviate the uncertainty utilities have faced.
“Because natural gas is clean, domestically produced and at historically low prices, consumer demand continues to grow, and our members must be able to expand to meet that demand. Bonus depreciation provides an incentive to expand and upgrade our natural gas infrastructure and we are pleased to see that the House and Senate were able to get this critical legislation passed and onto the president’s desk,” Parker concluded.