Ben Geman with thehill.com offers a quick update on Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) bid to cut ethanol tax credits:
Her proposed amendment to the Senate tax package would use some of the savings to offset extension of incentives for manufacturing “clean energy” equipment such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Extension of the manufacturing credit was left on the cutting-room floor when Senate Democratic leaders rolled out the package to extend Bush-era tax cuts last week, disappointing low-carbon energy advocates.
But Feinstein’s plan would add another $1 billion worth of credits to the program that was launched in the 2009 stimulus law. The stimulus provided $2.3 billion in clean energy manufacturing credits, but demand quickly outstripped that cap, leaving many companies out in the cold.
Here’s a statement from Feinstein on her plan:
“I intend to file an amendment to the tax bill today that would lower the ethanol subsidy and tariff to 36 cents-per-gallon.
“Currently, the federal government intervenes in the ethanol industry in three ways: requiring ethanol be blended in gasoline, providing a substantial subsidy and slapping tariffs on foreign ethanol imports, making us more dependent on foreign oil. This is bad policy and must be fixed.
“This amendment would reduce the tax credit from 45-cent-per-gallon tax credit to 36 cents-per-gallon, reduce the 10-cent-per-gallon small producer tax credit to 8-cents-per-gallon, and reduce the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol to 36-cents-per-gallon. Taxpayer savings of approximately $2 billion would be used to reduce the deficit and extend the Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit.”
Filed Under: Policy
