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US Senators Unveil Renewable Energy Tax Credit Bill,
by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
United States Senators John Ensign (R-NV), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), led a bipartisan
group of senators last week to announce a bill designed to encourage the development
of renewable energy and expand energy efficiency in buildings, homes and appliances.
“Satisfying our energy needs and reducing our reliance on foreign sources
is a challenge that we must meet, but that can only happen with the right incentives
in place,” commented Ensign, announcing the introduction of the bill into
the Senate. He continued: “Our bipartisan bill will help put us on a path toward energy
independence with American ingenuity leading the way.”
The Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008, authored by Ensign and Cantwell, extends
incentives to encourage renewable energy.
The legislation extends the placed-in-service
deadline through 2009 for the Production Tax Credit to encourage electricity production
using renewable energy resources such as geothermal, wind, biomass, hydropower
facilities. With this change, these renewable energy plants will have valuable
tax stability for 10 years, the bill's sponsors argue.
In addition, the bill proposes to extend the solar and fuel cell Investment Tax Credit for eight
years to encourage development of these technologies.
“Some remarkable energy projects have come online, and with the right tax
incentives, they will thrive and help meet our growing energy demands,”
observed Ensign. “If Congress continues to drag its feet, many projects
across the country will be a sad reminder of potential that was never met.”
“We have an opportunity to break the stalemate in the Senate,” he
added. “Especially at a time when our economy is struggling, we should not
be increasing taxes to pay for incentives. These incentives are necessary for
our energy security and to help jumpstart our economy.”
According to the Senators, studies have shown that the Production Tax Credit and
Investment Tax Credit for renewable energy projects would help create 120,000
employment opportunities and bring almost USD20bn in economic investment
into the country.
Ensign and Cantwell’s bill has 6 Democratic cosponsors and 14 GOP cosponsors
in total.
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