WASHINGTON The National Restaurant Association is spearheading an effort on Capitol Hill to extend the 15-year depreciation schedule for restaurant improvements and new construction. The current rules, established by Congress in 2004 and 2006, are set to expire at the end of 2009, at which time all schedules would revert back to 39 years.
The NRA, together with members of the Depreciation Fairness Coalition, sent letters to all members of the U.S. Congress requesting that they extend the 15-year schedule before it expires.
The coalition's letter maintains that extending the schedule is an important driver of economic activity and job creation. The group cites data provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which states that each dollar spent in the construction industry generates an additional $2.39 in spending throughout the rest of the economy. The bureau also found that every $1 million spent in the construction industry creates at least 28 jobs in the general economy.
The restaurant industry spent $10.4 billion in construction costs in 2007.
"Without congressional action, the depreciation schedule will revert back to 39 years, which would greatly discourage capital expenditures for restaurants," said Beth Johnson, the NRA's executive vice president of public affairs. "The failure to act now would be extremely shortsighted and inhibit job creation at a key moment.
"As the economy begins the process of recovery, businesses need the resources necessary to make investments, hire and retain workers, and, in certain cases, keep their doors open," she said.
The NRA spent $840,000 in the second quarter of 2009 to lobby on key industry issues, such as food safety, menu labeling, immigration reform and seasonal workers, according to a recent disclosure report.
According to the Associated Press, the NRA lobbied the U.S. House and Senate, the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Agriculture Department, among others during the April through June period.
Contact Paul Frumkin at [email protected].