In the past, Congress has regularly acted to extend expired or expiring temporary tax provisions. Collectively, these temporary tax provisions are often referred to as "tax extenders." Of the 33 temporary tax provisions that expired at the end of 2016, 13 were business-related tax provisions. All 13 business tax provisions that expired at the end of 2016 have been included in recent tax extenders legislation, although one was extended through 2021, leaving 12 that expired at the end of 2017. The business tax extenders are diverse in purpose, providing various types of tax relief to businesses in different industries. Most recently, Congress extended expiring tax provisions in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA18; P.L. 115-123 ). This law retroactively extended temporary tax provisions that had expired at the end of 2016 through 2017. This report briefly summarizes and discusses the economic impact of the 12 business-related tax provisions that expired at the end of 2017. All but one of the business provisions that expired at the end of 2016 was extended in the BBA18. The one business-related tax provision that expired at the end of 2016 that was not extended in the BBA18 was a provision relating to the allocation of qualified zone academy bonds; zone academy bonds were eliminated in the tax legislation enacted in December 2018 ( P.L. 115-97 ). The tax legislation also ended the domestic production activity deduction in general for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, but a special provision extending the deduction in general to Puerto Rico for the last year (2017) of the domestic production activity deduction was included. One provision that expired in 2016, the temporary increase in the limit on cover over of rum excise taxes to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, was extended through 2021 in the BBA18. There are several options for Congress to consider regarding temporary provisions. Provisions that expired at the end of 2017 could be extended. The extension could be retroactive. The extensions also could be short-term, long-term, or permanent. Another option would be to allow expired provisions to remain expired. The amount of revenue that would be lost by temporarily extending business tax provisions that expired at the end of 2017 is generally small (see Table 1 ). For each provision included in this report, the one-year extension in the BBA18 was estimated to reduce revenues by less than $300 million over the 10-year (2018 through 2027) budget window. Another option would be to extend expired provisions and make them permanent. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated the effects of making 10 of the provisions permanent. The list excluded the extension of the production activities deduction for Puerto Rico (given that the production activities deduction is repealed in general going forward) and the lower tax rate for timber gains, which would no longer be relevant given the lower corporate tax rate. It also excluded the increase in the rum cover over. According to JCT, making the 10 business provisions that expired at the end of 2016 and were extended through 2017 permanent would reduce federal revenues by an estimated $7.6 billion over the 10-year (2018 through 2027) budget window. Extending the rum cover over for an additional six years would add about $4 billion based on the one-year revenue cost. The cost of assets that provide services over a period of time, such as machines or buildings, is deducted over a period of years as depreciation. The schedule of depreciation deductions depends on the life of the asset and the distribution of deductions over that life. Straight-line depreciation is used for structures, where equal amounts are deducted in each year. For equipment, deductions are accelerated with larger amounts deducted in earlier years. Equipment is most commonly depreciated over 5 years or 7 years, but some short-lived assets are depreciated over 3 years and some longer-lived assets are depreciated over 10, 15, or 20 years. Nonresidential structures are depreciated over 39 years. Aside from the desire for economic stimulus, traditional economic theories suggest that tax depreciation should match as closely as possible economic (physical) depreciation of assets. The depreciation provisions discussed below all allow earlier deductions for depreciation, which are valuable because of the time value of money. Expensing provisions allow a firm to deduct the cost of an asset the year it is placed in service. Investment in certain assets (largely equipment with shorter lives) was eligible for bonus depreciation that allowed half of cost to be expensed (deducted immediately) in 2017, including some of the assets discussed below that are depreciated over 7 years or 5 years. This bonus depreciation was originally scheduled to begin phasing out in 2018. Legislation enacted in December 2017 ( P.L. 115-97 ) would allow 100% expensing of equipment for several years going forward. The presence of bonus depreciation or expensing would make some temporary provisions more important (such as the benefits for motorsports complexes, which would otherwise become ineligible) and some less important (such as shortening lives for racehorses or Indian reservation property, or expensing for films and television), which would have received the benefit regardless. Investments in film and television productions are generally recovered using the income forecast method. Under this method, depreciation deductions are based on the pattern of expected earnings. The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 ( P.L. 108-357 ) included special rules to allow expensing for certain film and television production costs. The main purpose of the provision was to discourage "runaway" productions, or the production of films and television shows in other countries, where tax and other incentives are often offered. Initially, the provision was set to expire at the end of 2008. However, since 2008, the provision has regularly been extended as part of "tax extender" legislation. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015, Division Q of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 ( P.L. 114-113 ), in addition to extending the provision, expanded it to include live theatrical productions taking place after December 31, 2015. The provision was most recently extended in the BBA18 ( P.L. 115-123 ). Under the special expensing rules for film, television, and live theatrical productions, taxpayers may elect to deduct immediately up to $15 million of production costs ($20 million for productions produced in certain low-income and distressed communities) in the tax year incurred. Eligible productions are limited to those in which at least 75% of the compensation paid is for services performed in the United States. For productions that started before 2008, the expensing deduction is not allowed if the aggregate production cost exceeds $15 million ($20 million for productions in designated low-income and distressed communities). Qualifying live theatrical productions are those generally performed in venues with an audience capacity of not more than 3,000 (or 6,500 for seasonal productions performed no more than 10 weeks annually). The provisions would cover most theatrical productions (the largest of the Broadway theatres, for example, has a seating capacity of less than 2,000). The ability to expense (deduct immediately) certain film, television, and live theatrical production costs provides a benefit by allowing deductions to be taken earlier, thus deferring tax liability. The magnitude of the benefit depends on the average lag time from production to earning income. For many films, production costs would be deductible in the year the film is released. If the film is released one year after the production costs are incurred, which may be the case for independent and smaller productions, the provision accelerates cost recovery by one year. The benefit conferred by accelerating cost recovery deductions by one year is limited. Furthermore, taxpayers with limited or no tax liability may derive little or no benefit from the expensing allowance. The primary policy objective of providing special tax incentives for film and television producers is to deter productions from moving overseas, lured by lower production costs as well as tax and other subsidies offered by foreign governments. Because live theatre is tied to audience location, "runaway" productions are not a concern. However, providing expensing for live theatrical production costs could encourage investment in such productions and provide parity with film and television. In evaluating this incentive, one consideration is the economic value of domestic film, television, and theatre production relative to the cost of the targeted tax benefits. An exception from the 39-year depreciation life for nonresidential structures exists for the theme and amusement park industry. Assets in this industry are assigned a recovery period of seven years. Historically, motorsports racing facilities have been included in this industry and also allowed a seven-year recovery period. However, ambiguities in the law led to questions about whether motorsports racing facilities were correctly categorized. When the Treasury reconsidered the appropriateness of this classification in 2004, Congress made the seven-year treatment mandatory through 2007 with the American Jobs Creation Act ( P.L. 108-357 ). Since 2004, the provision has been extended as part of "tax extenders" legislation—most recently in the BBA18 ( P.L. 115-123 ), which extended the provision through December 31, 2017. Without this provision, motorsports racing facilities would be depreciated over the standard 39-year life. The tax authorities presumably estimated motorsports racing facilities to have slower depreciation rates than the seven-year life that applies to amusement park facilities. If so, this provision constitutes a subsidy to the auto racing industry that does not appear to have an obvious justification. Supporters argued that the provision preserves historical treatment and provides a stimulus to business. They also argued that the benefit helps make them more competitive with sports facilities that are often subsidized by state and local governments. Race horses are tangible property, and taxpayers using racehorses in a trade or business must capitalize the cost of purchasing racehorses. The cost can then be recovered through annual depreciation deductions over time.