Pesticide Makers Seek Tax Credit

Farm chemical producers are urging Congress to pass legislation creating a tax credit to help agricultural businesses offset the costs of on-site security upgrades. "Our industry is committed to keeping pesticides out of the hands of terrorists and other criminals," says Jay J. Vroom, president of CropLife America. The pesticide industry trade group is working with several other organizations, including the Fertilizer Institute and the Chemical Producers & Distributors Association, to secure passage of the Agricultural Business Security Tax Credit Act (S. 551). Under the bill, sponsored by Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and E. Benjamin Nelson (D-Neb.), qualified businesses would be able to receive a tax credit of up to $100,000 per site, with an overall company cap of $2 million per year for security measures to protect chemical and fertilizer manufacturing and storage locations. Formulators of agricultural pesticides or fertilizers and agriculture retailers, distributors, and manufacturers would be eligible for the credit. Vroom says the measure will enable agricultural businesses "to take important, added steps to better protect the food supply and the American public from the potential threat of terrorism and other illegal activity."