Energy Tax Breaks To Be Added To International Tax Bill

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

07 April 2004

Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist, is planning to attach a series of energy-related tax breaks to the international tax bill designed to repeal the FSC-ETI legislation, which is currently stalled in the Senate over a number of unrelated amendments.

The Senate Energy Chairman, Pete Domenici (R – NM), stated that moving the energy tax cuts on a separate bill represented a “new strategy” for getting the bill through the Senate.

“First, I am going to get the tax provisions passed by attaching the tax package to a revised FSC/ETI,” declared Domenici. “These provisions are necessary to spur new investment in transmission lines, build the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline, expand tenfold our production of wind energy and an array of other steps critical to diversifying our energy supply,” he added.

The tax breaks in the energy bill have a ten-year price tag of $15 billion.

However, it is unclear whether this action will help move the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Strength) bill, which will give US manufacturers a 3% phased-in corporate tax cut, and ease EU trade sanctions.

Meanwhile, Frist is scheduling a vote on the revised international tax bill for today (Wednesday), when it is also expected that Senators will vote on a number of amendments proposed by Sen. Tom Harkin (D – Iowa) that would block a measure by the Bush administration to limit overtime for white collar workers.

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