The Senate Finance Committee approved, 23-3, a bill to retroactively revive four dozen tax breaks that expired at the end of 2014. The so-called “tax extenders” bill would give the incentives a two-year life at a cost of $95 billion. The bill would allow a tax deduction of up to $500,000 for major business purchases, rather than the current $25,000. Farm groups have supported the higher ceiling as a benefit to growers who face huge costs for equipment.
Committee members adopted an amendment by Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa to make the $1 a gallon biodiesel tax credit available only to domestic producers, said DTN. The industry has complained of an influx of foreign biodiesel, which competes with the U.S. biofuel.
The extenders bill, which now goes to the Senate floor, also revives tax credits for wind and solar energy and a $1.01 a gallon production tax credit for cellulosic biofuels.