Wisconsin Ag Connection - Rep. Kind Supporting Farm Equipment Depreciation Act

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Rep. Kind Supporting Farm Equipment Depreciation Act
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 02/12/2016

Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind is teaming up with a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers in introducing legislation to make the tax code fairer for farmers by shortening the depreciation schedule for ag equipment from seven years to five. The 'Fairness for Agricultural Machinery and Equipment,' or FAME Act would treat farm machinery the same as construction equipment.

"On average, farmers and ranchers finance farm equipment for five years; however, the value of their equipment depreciates over seven years," Rep. Kind said. "This legislation would fix that problem by making permanent a five-year depreciation schedule for agricultural equipment, which will help boost domestic demand and keep jobs here at home."

Supporters say a shorter depreciation schedule means that farmers can deduct the costs of new investments in farm equipment from their taxable income over a shorter period of time. This will allow farmers to recover the cost of equipment sooner and, therefore, encourage farmers to make investments to grow their business and spur growth in farm equipment manufacturing.

The La Crosse Democrat introduced the FAME Act along with Reps. Ralph Abraham, R-Louisiana; Rick Crawford, R-Arkansas; Jeff Denham, R-California; Sanford Bishop, D-Georgia; Frank Lucas, R-Oklahoma; Brad Ashford, D-Nebraska; Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas; and Rod Blum, R-Iowa.

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