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On Oct. 30, Politico Influence covered the ACEC advocacy campaign to fix R&D amortization:
ON THE AIRWAVES: The American Council of Engineering Companies is rolling out a national campaign this week pushing lawmakers to hash out a deal by the end of this year to allow businesses to once again immediately deduct their research and development expenses.
— The trade group is pumping six figures into an ad buy to go along with a grassroots campaign (that included a fly-in last month) seeking to highlight how small businesses — and engineering firms in particular — are being hit by the tax change.
— The amortization requirement, which kicked in beginning last year, has been a top target of the business community for a year-end tax package, the prospects for which are murky given Congress’ tight timeline to move a slew of other must-pass legislation. House Republicans passed a package of bills earlier this year that would fix the R&D issue, but Democrats have demanded that tax cuts for business be paired with a Child Tax Credit expansion.
— ACEC is framing the issue as crucial to infrastructure and clean energy investments Democrats have lauded, in an apparent nod to the partisan split. “Engineers are innovating the solutions that will build a stronger American future. But tax changes are stifling the spark of innovation, holding back the dreamers, doers and builders from the discoveries that will reshape our future,” a narrator says in the group’s ad, which will air nationally on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC and on streaming platforms, with additional spots inside the Beltway through November.