CONGRESS STRIKES BUDGET DEAL IN WAKE OF BRIEF FUNDING LAPSE

February 9, 2018

Renews 3-Year Depreciation for Race Horses for FY2017

Following a procedural roadblock in the Senate that initiated a five-hour government shutdown early Friday – the briefest lapse on record and second in three weeks – Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, legislation that will fund government operations through March 23 and remove budgetary obstacles to allow longer-term FY2018 appropriations talks to move forward.  Fortunately for the horse industry, lawmakers approved an important tax incentive to restore three-year depreciation of racehorses for FY2017, allowing race horse owners to take advantage of the incentive within their FY2017 tax submission.  This will allow racehorse owners to capture tax benefits that expired in FY2016.  As you recall, the new tax law includes 100% depreciation for racehorses.  The industry will continue to advocate for the 3-year depreciation provision for 2018 and beyond.

In addition to enacting an important capital cost recovery tool for the horse industry, the budget agreement also removes spending caps until March 2019 and authorizes nearly $300 billion in additional federal spending for the next two years.   Lawmakers hope that addressing the funding caps, effectively ending the “sequester” for the next year, will pave the way for smoother and more long-term budget negotiations through the remainder of 2018.

To view a summary of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, please click here.

For more information related to the nation’s rapidly changing tax policies, please contact Bryan Brendle, AHC’s Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs at bbrendle@horsecouncil.org or 202-296-4031.