A new bill moving through the U.S. Senate designed to help ailing manufacturers boost spending and add jobs would rewrite a part of the tax code that has been boosting SUV sales, according to The Detroit News. The Senate Finance Committee voted 19-2 last week to grant a 3 percent, across-the-board tax break to manufacturers, seeking to buttress a key sector of the economy amid concerns of job losses.
Lawmakers want manufacturers to use the tax savings to reinvest in U.S. operations and add jobs. But the tax bill includes scores of other provisions aimed at lowering the overall cost of the legislation. It reduces the so-called SUV tax loophole, which enables small businesses to write off up to $100,000 of the cost of an SUV that qualifies as business equipment. The bill redefines which vehicles qualify as business equipment and limits the deduction for qualifying vehicles to $25,000.
Automakers see the provision as a downside to a bill that otherwise is designed to boost the ailing manufacturing job market. The House is expected to act on the legislation this week.
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