On Wednesday night, February 7, the Senate released 600 pages containing the language of the proposed budget deal to be voted on tonight. It extends a lot of tax cuts for individuals and businesses for 2017. Yes, you read that right. It’s a massive retroactive tax break.

It includes several extensions of energy tax provisions that expired at the end of 2017, including a proposal long sought by backers to significantly expand tax breaks for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology as well as other low-carbon generation. It contains a host of “orphaned” renewable sources to the extension and phaseout schedule agreed to in a previous deal, including the following:

Extend the credit for nonbusiness energy property through the end of 2017.
Extend and modify the the credit for residential energy property through 2021.
Extend through the end of 2017 the credit for new fuel-cell motor vehicles.
Extend through 2017 the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property break.
Extend the credit for two-wheeled, plug-in electric vehicles though Jan. 1, 2018.
Extend the second generation biofuel producer credit through Jan. 1, 2018.
Extend the biodiesel and renewable diesel breaks through the end of 2017.
Extend the oil spill liability trust fund financing rate through the end of 2018.

If the “deal” is not approved tonight, taxpayers and climate skeptics may wish to inform their senators and representatives of their views on all this.

via Carlin Economics and Science

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February 8, 2018 at 10:09PM