NAFA Asks for Action On Bonus Depreciation
The NAFA Fleet Management Association has urged Congress to take action to extend bonus depreciation through 2010. The temporary bonus depreciation lapsed at the the end of 2009.
"The current economic situation has led many companies to postpone vehicle replacements, keeping vehicles in service longer," NAFA executive director Phil Russo said in an August 13 letter. "Bringing back bonus depreciation will enable corporate fleets to order vehicles this year and maintain vehicle replacement programs."
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) included a provision to extend bonus depreciation in H.R. 5297, known as the "Small Business Jobs Act of 2010." The bill extends the additional, first-year 50-percent depreciation for qualifying property purchased and placed in service in 2010. This first-year write-off of 50 percent of the purchase price, known as bonus depreciation, expired Jan. 1, 2010. If passed into law, H.R. 5297 will retroactively extend bonus depreciation through calendar-year 2010. The Senate will consider the Baucus amendment in September.
EPA Proposal to Regulate Emissions f rom Heavy Duty Trucks
The Environmental Protection Agency has sent a proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. Unlike light-duty cars and trucks, medium- and heavy-duty trucks currently are not subject to fuel economy or greenhouse gas emissions standards. In a May 21 memo, President Obama ordered EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue new fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by July 30, 2011. The standards would be implemented by 2014.