Paul....what's your take?.....March 1, 2000
IPC Leads Industry to Capitol Hill to Continue Push for 3-Year Depreciation
For the fourth year, the printed wiring board and electronics assembly industries are preparing to go to
Capitol Hill with the same message: ?Three not Five!? referring to a reduced depreciation schedule for
capital equipment used by companies in these industries. IPC ? Association Connecting Electronics
Industries is hosting its eighth annual Capitol Hill Day June 20, 2000, at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in
Washington, D.C.
?This bill is important to our industry because a shorter depreciation schedule will mean more money
up front to reinvest in new equipment,? says IPC director of legislative affairs John Kania.
Not only that, if the bill, known as the Printed Circuit Investment Act, becomes law, it would bring the
United States in line with the rest of the world. The current five-year depreciation schedule translates
into a depreciation schedule of 20 percent annually. Meanwhile, most companies in Asia can
depreciate up to 33 percent of their investment in the first year, and equipment in Japan is depreciated
80 percent.
While Capitol Hill Day is only one day, IPC and the industry have been working year-round to secure
congressional support for the Act.
Last November, IPC responded to a US Treasury Department request for documentation on how
much companies invested in equipment during the past five years and how it was depreciated. IPC is
also scheduled to submit data for a report that reviews the entire US depreciation system that is due in
late March.
IPC?s work on these two projects and the efforts made by those in the PWB and electronics
assembly industries over the past four years have not gone unrewarded. There are currently 63
cosponsors for the House version of the bill (H.R. 1122) and 18 for the Senate version (S.635).
IPC and the industry have gained a lot of support for the Printed Circuit Investment Act from
representatives in this session of Congress, and it is important that the industry take advantage of its
current position before it?s too late. This session of Congress ends in October. If the Act does not
become law by the end of the session, there are two implications. First, next spring the House and
Senate will most likely welcome a number of new faces, so a new group of legislators will have to be
educated about the industry and the Act. Secondly, the end of this session will definitely spell the end
of H.R. 1122 and S.635, which means they will have to be reintroduced next year.
The time to act is now. IPC has received tremendous support at Capitol Hill Day, but the need for
more on-site support is crucial. ?One face-to-face meeting between a congressional representative
and one of his or her constituents is worth more than a dozen phone calls by IPC staff,? says Kania. |
