Washington, DC -- Printing Industries ofAmerica has released a letter to Capitol Hill urging enactment of key tax relief which was significantly scaled back in the final $787 billion stimulus measure.
 
Presidents and CEOs of printing and graphic communications companies across the country have joined with other manufacturers to call for Congress to pass legislation extending the net operating loss carry back period to five years for 2008 and 2009.
 
The two identical letters sent yesterday are addressed to Democratic and Republican Leadership and to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the tax writing committees. The relief needed is the same as proposed in President Obama's fiscal year 2010 Budget and was included in the Senate-passed stimulus bill. However, the final stimulus bill enacted into law provided a five-year carry back for 2008 net operating losses limited to companies with annual gross receipts of $15 million or less.
 
Expanding the legislation would allow companies to carry back losses to previously profitable years in order to decrease their present tax burden. Extension of the provision to five years would quickly provide cash to printing companies, ultimately resulting in keeping print plants open, saving jobs, and making investments. Immediate relief is vital to maintain printing companies of all sizes, especially during this unparalleled economic period.
 
"The [net operating loss] provision is the strongest tool you can provide to help companies in a broad cross-section of industries weather the current economic conditions. Faced with limited access to capital, the ability to transform a future tax benefit into cash today is critical to maintain otherwise viable businesses," wrote the CEOs of printing firms and other manufacturers. Nearly 100 companies signed the letters calling for prompt action.
 
In the past 14 months, the manufacturing sector reported 1.3 million jobs have been lost with the majority of those losses in the past four months. Timely extension of the carry back period would help printers meet payroll, retain their work force, and help avoid additional layoffs.