WASHINGTON – In late February, U.S. Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, released draft legislation of comprehensive tax reform. One of the provisions is the full repeal of, and retroactive tax payments on last-in, first-out (LIFO) accounting use. In fact, the Camp proposal would completely eliminate the use of LIFO and require those companies using it to pay retroactive taxes over a four-year period.

NACS is part of a coalition of business groups working to protect the decades-old LIFO accounting practice. Just last week, that coalition was successful in getting 113 bipartisan members of Congress to sign a letter to Camp expressing concern with his LIFO repeal proposal and asking that he remove it from future tax drafts. This is the most signatures on any letter to Camp about a specific issue in his tax reform proposal. It also represents more than one-quarter of the entire House of Representatives.

The letter, led by Reps. James Lankford (R-OK) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), was a very successful effort, but it is just the beginning of the work that needs to be done. LIFO repeal has also been included in budget proposals put forth by President Obama and Senate Democrats as a potential way to pay for other projects. Ironically, perhaps, the increased attention on LIFO has helped crystallize opposition to its repeal and will hopefully ultimately help protect it.

Take action now through the NACS grassroots system, which will generate a pre-drafted, editable letter to your Representative(s) either thanking them for signing onto the letter to Camp or requesting their future support for LIFO.