[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 105 (Thursday, July 28, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S9290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE:
  S. 1523. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make 
permanent increased expensing for small businesses; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation on 
behalf of the Nation's millions of small businesses and self-employed 
individuals. I am pleased to join with my colleague in the House, 
Congressman Wally Herger, in reforming the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 to permanently extend the amount of new investment a business can 
expense.
  This bill is a critical incentive for the small business sector of 
our economy to invest in new technology, expand their operations, and 
most important, create jobs.
  We can never minimize the role that small businesses play in our 
economy. They represent 99 percent of all employers, employ 51 percent 
of the private-sector workforce, provide nearly 75 percent of the net 
new jobs, contribute 51 percent of the private-sector output, and 
represent 96 percent of all exporters of goods. In short, size is the 
only ``small'' aspect of small business.
  The bill I introduce today recognizes the vitality and uniquely 
American innovation of the small business owners and entrepreneurs 
throughout our country. It will make permanent the provisions in 
Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code, which enables small 
businesses to write off the cost of new equipment, rather than 
depreciate it over a period of years.
  As the chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, I am responding today to the repeated requests from 
small businesses in my State of Maine and from across the Nation for 
greater expensing of new equipment.
  By making permanent the current expensing limit of $100,000 and 
indexing these amounts for inflation, this bill will achieve two 
important objectives.
  First, qualifying businesses will be able to write off more equipment 
purchases today, instead of waiting 5, 6, 7 or more years to recover 
their costs through depreciation.
  That represents substantial savings both in dollars and in the time 
small businesses would otherwise be forced to spend complying with 
complex depreciation rules. Moreover, new equipment contributes to 
continued productivity growth in the business community, which Federal 
Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has repeatedly stressed is essential to 
long-term economic growth and job creation.
  Second, more businesses will qualify for this benefit because the 
phase-out limit will be made permanent at $400,000 in new equipment 
purchases. This will occur at the same time small business capital 
investment pumps more money into the many sectors of the economy. My 
bill is a win-win for small business and the economy as a whole.
  Small businesses are always at the forefront of our national economic 
recoveries and our national economic booms. This bill strengthens their 
ability to lead the way. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting 
this important legislation as we work with the President to enact this 
bill into law.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1523

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Expensing 
     Permanency Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. INCREASED EXPENSING FOR SMALL BUSINESS MADE 
                   PERMANENT.

       (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 179(b) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to dollar limitation) 
     is amended by striking ``$25,000 ($100,000 in the case of 
     taxable years beginning after 2002 and before 2008)'' and 
     inserting ``$100,000''.
       (b) Increase in Qualifying Investment at Which Phaseout 
     Begins.--Paragraph (2) of section 179(b) of such Code 
     (relating to reduction in limitation) is amended by striking 
     ``$200,000 ($400,000 in the case of taxable years beginning 
     after 2002 and before 2008)'' and inserting ``$400,000''.
       (c) Inflation Adjustments.--Section 179(b)(5)(A) of such 
     Code (relating to inflation adjustments) is amended by 
     striking ``and before 2008''.
       (d) Revocation of Election.--Section 179(c)(2) of such Code 
     (relating to election irrevocable) is amended by striking 
     ``and before 2008''.
       (e) Off-the-shelf Computer Software.--Section 
     179(d)(1)(A)(ii) of such Code (relating to section 179 
     property) is amended by striking ``and before 2008''.
       (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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