A bipartisan effort recently introduced to the Senate would make permanent a tax credit used to repair and upgrade short line railroads throughout Kansas.
The Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act builds on legislation first introduced in 2004, by then-U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS). It encourages railroads, as well as their customers and suppliers, to invest in maintenance of any railroad largely moving agricultural and manufacturing freight, and in the process, generating between $36 million and $458 million per year. There are more than 2,000 miles of short line railroad in Kansas alone.
“Short line railroads connect rural and regional economies across our state and provide communities with access to national and global markets,” U.S. Sen. Moran, one of the new bill’s sponsors, said. “The BRACE Act would make certain that short line railroads and the communities who depend on them can stay up-to-date on critical maintenance and track improvements. This bipartisan legislation would mark significant progress as we work to make critical, much-needed investments in our nation’s transportation infrastructure.”
The old credit has already been extended numerous times, though these extensions have sometimes been retroactive, making uncertain terrain for companies looking to invest. Notably, in addition to making this credit permanent, the BRACE Act would allow credits to be allocated to investments made in 2018 retroactively.