Senate Finance Committee member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and ranking Republican Charles Grassley (R-IA) yesterday introduced a bill that would modify and extend the existing tax credit program for biodiesel.
The Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act of 2009 would:
• Change the incentive from a blender credit to a production tax credit. Producers of biodiesel would qualify for the entire $1/gallon credit without the need to blend their fuels with taxable (petroleum) fuels.
• Provide the $1 per gallon tax credit for the production of biodiesel, renewable diesel and aviation jet fuel that complies with fuel standards and Clean Air Act requirements that define qualified fuels under current law.
• For small producers, those with an annual production capacity of less than 60 million gallons, the credit increases from $1 to $1.10 for the first 15 million gallons of biodiesel produced.
• Simplify the definition of “biodiesel” to encourage production from any biomass-based feedstock or recycled oils and fats.
• Simplify the coordination between the income tax credit and the excise tax liability to tighten compliance and reduce administrative burdens on taxpayers.
• Extend this tax credit for five years, eliminating the uncertainty from the pending expiration at the end of 2009.
The bill is not yet available for download from Thomas but a pre-publication copy is available here.
[...] Act of 2009 by Senators Maria Cantwell and Charles Grassley. We covered the bill in an earlier post. Reaction around the Web was swift and generally [...]
Pingback by Renewable Energy Around the Web: August 10, 2009 « Renewable Energy Memo — August 10, 2009 @ 5:25 am
[...] credit under Sections 6426(d) and 6427(e) of the Internal Revenue Code) should be aware of how the Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act of 2009 will affect their access to tax credits. Importantly, that recently-introduced bill will have no [...]
Pingback by Alternative Fuel Credits and S.B. 1589 « Renewable Energy Memo — August 12, 2009 @ 7:44 am
I don’t see how the bill effectively extends the definition of “biodiesel” to encourage production from any biomass-based feedstock. In the bill, Biodiesel must still meet the requirements of the American Society of Testing and Materials D6751. And ASTM D6751 defines biodiesel as “mono alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats.” Therefore other biomass-based feedstocks, e.g., any fuel derived from plant matter, does not qualify as a D6751 fuel. If the sponsor’s of the bill want to include other biomass-derived fuels, I think that they are going to have to be more specific.
Comment by Stephen Paul — August 30, 2009 @ 12:38 am
[...] after which it was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill is a companion to S.B. 1589, introduced by Maria Cantwell and Charles Grassley two months ago. Comments [...]
Pingback by Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Bill « Renewable Energy Memo — November 19, 2009 @ 7:31 am
[...] Senator Charles Grassley, one of the sponsor of the Biodiesel Tax Credit Reform and Extension Act, is continuing to push for the Senate to act on the bill before the end of the year. Existing [...]
Pingback by Grassley Pushes for Extension of Biodiesel Tax Credit « Renewable Energy Memo — November 30, 2009 @ 7:40 am