Short-Term Extenders Put Businesses in Limbo Heading Into 2020

Few congressional policies resemble Limbo from “Dante’s Inferno” more than the dozens of temporary tax incentives known as extenders.

For years lawmakers have sought to end the practice of keeping industry-specific tax breaks going on a temporary basis, a practice reminiscent of the appropriations earmarks that Congress put a stop to in 2011. But, as with earmarks, constituencies and industries from various parts of the country are reluctant to let their own incentives expire.

While few express affection for ‘extenders’ as a whole, they continue to be advanced on a temporary basis, most recently in the fiscal 2020 government funding ...