Using ACRS To combat current economic problems

I have a teacher that insists if we allowed companies to use ACRS again that we would be able to quickly rise out of the recession. It would cause many companies to expand right away, thus spending money and creating jobs across almost every industry. Since depreciation would have increased so much, tax revenue would deecrease for the companies using it. But, tax on all the industries that support the building of new properties, (construction, metals, textiles, oil, gas, ect.) basically everything is connected, the tax revenue from these services would go up due to more business. Also, income tax revenue would increase due to more jobs.

If you do not know what ACRS is, it was introduced while Reagan was in office in 1981. Basically, it allows companies to depreciate property extremely fast, this greatly increases their cash flow in the initial years. It greatly spurred the economy on, created jobs, and encouraged companies to spend their money instead of just holding it.

I want to know what do you guys think? Would it work? Would it really be as simple as to allow ACRS to be used for the next couple years and change the current state of the economy?

It makes sense to me, an increase in building of depreciable property would impact almost every industry in America. I think that the taxes lost due to more depreciation would be offset by the increase in other tax revenues.

2 Comments
 

Maybe I'm completely off here, but in my limited experience with this type of thing I'm under the understanding that for tax purposes companies do use MACRS, and for financial reporting purposes they can use any number of depreciation methods so long as it's disclosed.

 

Dolores iste alias unde ullam. Voluptas repellendus officiis laborum optio nesciunt. Consequuntur atque sunt maxime rerum. Eos maxime in veritatis iste consectetur. Rem deleniti mollitia sunt quia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”