It is highly likely that a good portion of this money will make its way towards reinvestments in new farm machinery that can enjoy accelerated capital depreciation under the tax code if purchased before the end of this year.

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That is, after paying for labor and raw materials, they have at best 30 cents of the revenue dollar remaining to cover overhead and depreciation on their machinery.

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That is because the average rate of depreciation of the capital stock has risen as investment has shifted from traditional machinery to shorter-lived assets such as computers and software.

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Their handsome dividends (in the neighborhood of 5%) are largely sheltered by depreciation write-offs on the pipelines and machinery.

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As the composition of investment has shifted from traditional machinery towards shorter-lived assets, such as computers and software, the average rate of depreciation has increased.

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