Tax Showdown in Senate During Convention

A top priority for ACEC’s “citizen lobbyists” during the ACEC Annual Convention and Legislative Summit will be the restoration of full deductibility of R&D expenses. The House has done its job and passed legislation by an overwhelming bipartisan margin to fix the problem. The ball is now in the Senate’s court, and a showdown is possible in May during the Convention. ACEC needs a strong turnout among firms impacted by the new five-year R&D amortization mandate to support a lobbying push to convince the Senate to act.

ACEC is working with the US Chamber, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable, and others to build support for the House-passed tax bill (HR 7024) in the Senate, and pressure is building. ACEC released a statement on Tax Day from ACEC Chair Jay Wolverton calling on the Senate to push forward on a bipartisan fix on R&D, which was picked up by Politico: American Council of Engineering Companies board Chair Jay Wolverton said today’s filing deadline “brings another crippling tax increase on America’s engineering industry and other sectors of the economy that embrace innovation,” arguing that sunsetting tax breaks that would be addressed by the bill are “literally punishing [companies] for the innovation our economy needs to stay competitive.”

ACEC needs Senators to weigh in with the leadership of the Senate Finance Committee – Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) – urging them to bring the House bill to the Senate floor for a vote. This is starting to happen – thanks to the grassroots outreach from ACEC member firms and our industry allies – but more needs to be done. We need impacted firms to come to Washington in May and demand action. Please register for the Convention today.

For questions regarding the Convention lobbying program and the state of play on ACEC’s effort to secure an R&D fix, please contact Steve Hall at shall@acec.org.