House Ways and Means releases bill that impacts transit

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee released H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The bill proposes significant changes to current law that impacts the public transportation industry. Here are some of the issues with the

bill:

The bill does not address the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund as a part of comprehensive tax reform.  Not addressing the viability of the Highway Trust  Fund poses significant long-term transportation infrastructure challenges. A longterm federal commitment would be the best possible scenario for transportation infrastructure programs.

Under current law, the cost of commuting to work on public transportation is a tax free benefit that can be provided by employers. The bill retains the pretax payroll deduction option. However, removing the option for employers to deduct the cost of the tax free benefits, could be a disincentive for employers to offer it to working families.

Unfortunately, this legislation does not extend the alternative fuels and related infrastructure tax credits that expired on December 31, 2016.  In particular, transit agencies benefit from the $0.50 per gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) tax credit offered to transit agencies fueling their vehicles with compressed (CNG) or liquefied (LNG) natural gas.

Congress has an opportunity to revisit the tax code to encourage investment in transportation infrastructure not discourage future investment. According to APTA,  addressing the state of good repair backlog for surface transportation infrastructure currently at $90 billion and growing for public transportation alone, would require dramatic investment and new revenues in the Highway Trust Fund.