Bipartisan bill would amend tax law provision that hurts restaurants and retailers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen worked with a bipartisan group of senators led by Sens. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) last week to introduce the Restoring Investments in Improvements Act, bipartisan legislation that ensures restaurants and retailers can take full advantage of a 2017 tax law provision.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made significant changes to the federal tax code, including allowing businesses to immediately write off costs associated with improving facilities instead of having to depreciate those expenses over 15 years. However, a drafting error required restaurants, retailers and other leaseholders to instead write those expenses off over a much longer period of 40 years, resulting in cost-prohibitive renovation projects and stalled investments. The Restoring Investments in Improvements Act would ensure the full cost of store, office or other interior building improvements can be immediately expensed as was originally intended. The Joint Committee on Taxation has concluded that this legislation would have no impact on the federal budget deficit.