Congress says good-bye to 2023
Congress is trying to wrap up its work in preparation for the holiday break. As usual, the agenda is long and complicated. There are unfinished annual appropriations bills (including the Agriculture appropriations) that need to be completed before the first government shutdown deadline of January 19. Holding up the process is a lack of agreement on the topline numbers — meaning the total amount of money allocated or authorized for government funding in a fiscal year. It’s like knowing your monthly mortgage or rental payment is due but not knowing what’s in your bank account or how much you will be charged.
Other issues topping the to-do list include funding decisions for Israel, Ukraine, and border security. Apparently not on the list, is tax policy. December is typically the month when Congress renews tax extenders which are provisions used to extend or reinstate tax breaks, deductions, credits, or incentives for particular sectors or activities. Important to the equine industry is H.R.2926 – Race Horse Cost Recovery Act of 2023. There is an expectation that Congress will take up a tax package early in 2024 to address the racehorse tax provisions as well as others, including expansion of the Child Tax Credit.
Tax news to know now is the IRS has again delayed the requirement for third-party electronic payment networks to report transactions over $600 on Form 1099-K. The $20,000 and 200 transactions thresholds remain in place until December 31, 2023, and will then decrease to $5,000 for the 2024 tax year. Note: The rules for reporting income are not changing. Anybody receiving taxable income through third-party networks must still track and report their taxable income. Read the IRS’s news release for more details.
The first session of the 118th Congress has been a rough ride. We are optimistic that 2024 will see more progress on our priority issues we requested in the Farm Bill, worker visas, horse welfare, and rural development. We’ll be working on our Legislative Scorecard during the break so members can begin evaluating their congressional delegations’ support for the equine industry before election season kicks-off.
If you have questions about the status of any bill, please contact us at info@horsecouncil.org.
