Montana doesn’t have to wait long for our manufacturing business to start booming again. We just need the Senate to pass the Tax Relief for American Families & Workers Act of 2024 (TRAFWA).
The House of Representatives passed this bipartisan tax deal overwhelming; yet in the Senate, it’s gathering dust.
Sens. Daines and Tester would serve Montana well by working to pass TRAFWA. This act enhances the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and continues the full expense provision for research and development investments. Montana’s manufacturers need this catalyst now as it bolsters confidence in domestic investment.
Allowing companies to deduct the total cost of their R&D expenses proved to provide a powerful incentive for Montana manufacturers to pursue new product developments and process improvements. It wasn’t just about reducing taxable income. It fostered an environment where innovation thrived, cutting-edge products were produced, and new high-quality Montana jobs were created.
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When a company pursues R&D projects, wages of high-end talent can be a major cost. Meaning a start-up or small Montana business operating on borrowed money before their product goes to market must worry about paying salaries for skilled Montana workers. However, being able to fully expense R&D allows businesses to use top talent and avoid significant burdens from the IRS.
Similarly transformative was the TCJA’s allowance for completely expensing new equipment, machinery and technology investments. In a field driven by efficiency gains and technological advancements, entirely writing off these capital expenditures means operations can be modernized faster, which accelerates return-on-investment, making projects that might otherwise seem too costly or risky more financially viable.
Some provisions in the TCJA – including R&D incentives – were not permanent. They expired in January. That put many Montanan business owners at a tax disadvantage just at the same time as the Biden administration’s inflationary policies created a difficult economic climate.
TRAFWA would remedy this situation. Building on TCJA’s framework, this bipartisan tax deal would extend Trump-era tax provisions that put good-paying Montana jobs first, including the reinstatement of immediate R&D tax investments and the Child Tax Credit (CTC), all of which have the proven ability to support Montanan businesses and families.
Through targeted tax reforms like those found within TRAFWA’s framework—Montana would once again be an increasingly attractive place for manufacturing investment due to its enhanced fiscal friendliness towards critical growth-driving activities such as R&D and infrastructure upgrades.
Montana—which saw record business growth last year—cannot really afford to watch the Senate continue to twiddle their thumbs on TRAFWA’s passage. These tax provisions are crucial to manufacturing growth in Montana. Please call our Senators (Tester: 202-224-2644 and Daines: 202-224-2651). Ask that they pass the Tax Relief for American Families & Workers Act of 2024.
In the meantime, Montanans are left with uncertainty and are counting down the days until President Trump will once again unleash American energy development and launch a booming manufacturing industry. There’s a 90% correlation between the use of electricity in the U.S. and economic growth. Affordable electricity powers economic growth way more than any tax break. More energy means lower inflation, which means more jobs. When electricity is inexpensive, it costs less to make products, resulting in money saved for producers and more affordable products for consumers.
When electricity costs are high in Montana, companies move out of state or overseas to countries like China where it is cheaper, taking good-paying Montana jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars with them. For the good of Montana, it’s time for the Senate to act on TRAFWA. If they don’t, Montanans need to realize it’s finally time to flush-the-jon on Nov. 5 when they vote to Make America Great Again.
On day one, President Trump will roll back every Biden administration mandate that has been brutalizing American industry and that is the true meaning of The Best is Yet to Come!
Suzann Nordwick is a process research engineer with over 30 years of experience and a Republican candidate for Montana Public Service Commission District 3
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