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Senate passes tax extenders package

The Senate has approved the tax extenders package on a 76-16 vote. It now heads for the White House for approval.

The bill, which retroactively extends a package of expired tax breaks for 2014, holds key provisions for small businesses such as section 179 expensing and bonus depreciation. It also includes the dollar-per-gallon biodiesel tax credit.

The president of the American Soybean Association says the passage of the tax extenders bill “is a welcome relief to farmers” but Wade Cowan, a Texas farmer, says it’s not the long-term fix that farmers need.  He urges Congress to “redouble its efforts to pass a longer-term tax extenders package” because farmers need that certainty in the tax code “not a guessing game.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation agrees, saying farmers need to make business decisions for the long term. AFBF is urging the President to sign the temporary provisions into law for 2014 that it says will allow farmers and ranchers reinvest in their businesses.