Key Business Tax Breaks Would Be Made Permanent in Senate Draft

The Senate draft of the Republican’s giant tax bill would make permanent three key tax breaks for business, going further than the House version.

The Senate Finance Committee released a proposal Monday that would permanently allow companies to immediately deduct research and development costs and what they pay for certain depreciable property, like most machinery and factories. It also would permanently allow them to include amortization and depreciation when calculating a limit on business interest deductions.

All three measures were included in the House version of the bill that narrowly passed on May 22, but they would have expired after 2029.

Senate Republicans and many businesses had pushed to make those measures permanent because they would allow companies to take tax deductions more quickly and to deduct more of the interest they pay on their debt.