Sessions Introduces Expense Act

SESSIONS INTRODUCES EXPENSE ACT

Legislation will spur economic, job growth by creating incentivesfor American businesses to reinvest

Washington, Nov 3 - U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) recently introduced the Expensing Property Expands Our Nation's Strong Economy (EXPENSE) Act of 2005 (H.R. 4129), a bill designed to spur growth by creating incentives for American enterprise to reinvest in their businesses, new equipment, and employees.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides businesses with tax incentives for their capital assets based on an IRS schedule of how long it takes for a capital asset, such as a computer, to lose its value. Under the IRS' current extended depreciation schedule, capital assets are assumed to hold their value for a longer period of time than is warranted in an era of quickly changing technology.

The EXPENSE Act will solve this problem by allowing businesses to determine their own depreciation schedules. Eliminating the current arbitrary schedule of asset depreciation will allow companies to allocate their resources more efficiently. Further, it will allow them to invest in new technology, grow their business, and add jobs as the market demands, not as dictated by an arbitrary depreciation table.

"The current system of asset depreciation employed by the IRS is artificially inhibiting economic growth at a time when Congress needs to create incentives for American businesses to reinvest in new equipment and hire new workers," said Sessions.

"By forcing companies to depreciate their assets over an arbitrary period of time, the United States also puts its domestic companies at a competitive disadvantage with their foreign competitors," Sessions continued.

"This legislation will spur overall economic and job growth by creating incentives for American businesses reinvest in the future," Sessions concluded.

http://sessions.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=36517