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New tax rules that start Jan. 1 will change the way trucking companies and other U.S. businesses account for real estate and business equipment and could create room for more same-year deductions rather than multiyear depreciation, according to several tax experts.

A federal appeals court denied a request to postpone enforcement of a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule that would increase to $75,000 from $10,000 the minimum amount of a surety bond the businesses must carry.

FMCSA has shut down five household-goods moving companies in three states, alleging that the carriers were “holding customer shipments hostage and failing to turn over records related to their investigations.”

California environmental regulators said they will give truckers operating in the state who show “good faith efforts” additional time beyond the Jan. 1 compliance deadline requiring most heavy-trucks to install particulate filters.

Kentucky was awarded a low-interest federal loan that will save an estimated $100 million in financing costs for the Ohio River Bridges Project, Gov. Steve Beshear’s office announced Nov. 20.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) collected the last toll on State Route 400 on Nov. 22, keeping the state’s promise to end tolling on the road once its debt had been retired.

WASHINGTON — Congress no longer can put off finding a long-term solution to U.S. infrastructure needs without risking that the nation will slip behind global competitors, several industry leaders said Nov. 21 during a transportation conference here.

House Republicans and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro sparred over the 34-hour restart provision of the new hours-of-service rule for truck drivers at a hearing last week, with some members accusing her agency of “arrogance” and slowness in producing a congressionally required study on the rule.

Fleets that use the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Pre-Employment Screening Program to check driver safety records had 8% fewer crashes than carriers that don’t use the system, according to a recent FMCSA study.