On Dec. 16 the U.S. Senate approved legislation to extend a number of expiring tax provisions and President Barack Obama signed it into law on Dec. 19.
The bill, H.R. 5771, called the Tax Increase Prevention Action of 2014, passed the Senate by a 76-14 vote. It passed the House on Dec. 3 by a 378-46 vote.
The bill included the extension through tax year 2014 for dozens of individual and small business expenses. The key ones for farmers are Section 179 small business expensing, which allows small businesses to immediately expense up to $500,000 instead of depreciating them over time and there will be an additional 50 percent bonus depreciation for the purchase of new capital assets.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman praised Congress for passing the bill while noting that a long-term solution is needed.
"Thanks to tax provisions like Section 179 for small business expensing and bonus depreciation, hard-working Americans will be free to put their money directly back to work on their land and in their local communities," Stallman said. "
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