From APRA eConnection
The Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA) is working with its membership to contact Congress to support a tax credit for the purchase of equipment used to recycle or remanufacture goods.
APRA’s 1,000 members remanufacture used vehicle parts so that they may be given another life. These parts keep many heavy-duty trucks, construction equipment, fire trucks, off-road vehicles and agricultural equipment around for many years by extending their useful life. They keep vehicles running for those Americans of lesser means who cannot afford the cost of new parts. By remanufacturing used parts APRA members extend both the useful life of the parts and the vehicle on which they are used, reduce the amount of waste that flows into our landfills and salvage most of the raw materials and energy that was used to create the original part. Because it saves more of the labor, the capital and energy that went into fabricating the original part, remanufacturing is “environmentally superior” to merely recycling a part to salvage its metal components, according to APRA.
Most remanufacturers are small businesses, and purchasing and maintaining the proper equipment is a vital but expensive part of the business. Assistance with acquiring and replacing such equipment in the form of a tax credit will permit remanufacturers to produce better and longer lasting products. Providing a tax credit will allow American remanufacturers to compete with foreign products as well, said APRA.
In March 2008, APRA assisted in the introduction of a Recycling/Remanufacturing Tax Credit bill, H.R. 5659. The bill received favorable attention but no action was taken on it. APRA is seeking support for its reintroduction in the new Congress, citing that the goals of the bill fit well in the environmental and economic goals of the new administration.
