Apr 25, 2022
Stealth Taxation and Tradeshow Iron Make Perfect Bedfellows
BY AsphaltPro Staff
Unless lobbyists can convince members of Congress to enact some fancy legislation to the contrary, business owners have until the end of this year to enjoy 100% of equipment bonus depreciation when figuring their tax burdens. Starting in 2023, that percentage dips to 80. In 2024, it drops to 60%. Then it’s 40% in 2025. Then it’s 20% in 2026. It’s nothing in 2027. Nothing. No incentive. Back to business as usual.
Here’s an interesting rub. The rules say you must not only purchase the equipment, but you must also take delivery and put the equipment into operation prior to year-end. With some delivery schedules currently out to February and March 2023, that means some business owners are already looking at the 80% category for their tax incentive to pull the trigger.
Obviously, you purchase equipment for more reasons than a tax incentive, but you must admit, getting a big-dollar break versus not getting a big-dollar break makes a difference to the bottom line. The best, most concise, layperson-language article I’ve seen on the program enacted in 2017 is found on the Stansteel blog here: stansteel.com/bonus-depreciation/. It’s a shame to see the program going away.
Enter World of Asphalt/AGG1 2022. The tradeshow floors were hoppin’ with customers making purchasing decisions on the spot. The team at Dynapac was not at liberty to put the contractor’s name on the record for its new made-in-America D30T paver, which was on display, but that hunk of highway-class iron had a home waiting on it. Another paver OEM joked about auctioning the equipment from the tradeshow floor to make the offering fairer.
Edgar Chavez, the North American president of Allu Group, told AEM that his company was having a successful first showing at WOA. “During the first day we had more than 15 qualified leads with $250,000 in orders,” Chavez told AEM.
The climate was perfect for that kind of purchasing desire and power. Brittany Weltcheff, show manager for World of Asphalt, shared, “we were able to bring together more than a record-breaking 11,400 asphalt paving and aggregates professionals to learn, experience everything that’s new and important in our industries, and make more than 30,000 connections.”
Next year’s big industry event is CONEXPO/CON-AGG in Vegas, then we return to Nashville for WOA, March 25-27, 2024. Even if we don’t convince Congress to renew the 100% bonus depreciation of equipment purchases, the need for the people, education, technology, and equipment to keep our infrastructure maintained and renewed will see us gathering to get the job done. For more coverage of WOA/AGG1, check out all TheAsphaltPro social media channels where we had regular updates throughout the week of March 28-31.
Stay Safe,
Sandy Lender