A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to allow certain federally required nonproductive expenditures to be treated as expenses, and for other purposes.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to treat federally required nonproductive expenditures as current business expenses and thus tax deductible in the taxable year in which they are incurred. Defines "federally required nonproductive expenditures" as expenditures in connection with a business facility which are required by Federal or State law, but which do not significantly increase the profitability of the business. Permits a taxpayer to base depreciation expenses upon a depreciation period of his choice, rather than upon the useful life of the property or its class life as determined under Internal Revenue Service regulations. Provides that the selected depreciation period may not exceed the useful life or class life of the property and may not be less than five years for tangible personal property or ten years for realty.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 20, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 20, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
RALPH REGULA (R-OH) introduced it on March 20, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 20, 1979, 17341 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17341 days ago, on March 20, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers