Emmer seeks U.S. tax code update to ensure financing benefits for RV industry

Proposed legislation from U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) would include the financing of certain trailers and campers in the United States tax code.

The Travel Trailer and Camper Technical Correction Act, H.R. 6969, would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure that floor plan financing includes any trailer or camper that’s designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or seasonal use and is designed to be towed by, or affixed to, a motor vehicle, according to the text of the bill.

Towable RVs and campers were inadvertently excluded from the definition of “motor vehicle” in the most recent update of the law, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, according to Rep. Emmer. This subsequently has prevented RV dealers and retailers from gaining financing when purchasing new inventories of RVs, according to the congressman.

“As the law is currently written, our RV dealers do not have the clarity and consistency they need, putting them at an unnecessary competitive disadvantage,” Rep. Emmer said. “Since RV ownership continues to climb in Minnesota and across the country, it is imperative for Congress to immediately correct this oversight in the new tax law by passing this common sense legislation.”

In fact, according to the RV Industry Association, more than 400 RV businesses and 85 RV dealerships are located in Minnesota and employ upwards of 3,400 Minnesotans. The RV industry also has an economic output of nearly $970 million, according to the group’s 2017 RVs Move America report.

Rep. Emmer introduced H.R. 6969 on Sept. 28 with original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN). The bill would treat motorized and non-motorized campers and travel trailers the same under the U.S. tax code so that related businesses also may deduct interest and depreciation expenses through clearer definitions and guidelines, according to an Oct. 1 statement released by his staff.

Currently, all 50 states define and regulate towable RVs and campers as Motor Vehicles, according to the congressman’s statement.

H.R. 6969 has been referred to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee for consideration.