by Ben Nuelle
Congress will vote on the omnibus bill Friday and many of Senator Chuck Grassley?s tax credit provisions were put in it.
Grassley said tax extensions have a major impact on agriculture.
?For instance it would include provisions for wind energy and biodiesel. Remember how important section 179 is for farmers. They will be able to expense up to a half a million dollars a year of equipment as opposed to using 10-year depreciation. This is not only going to help farmers and small businesses but manufacturers like John Deere,? Grassley said.
The five-year extension of the wind energy production tax credit is a victory for wind energy producers. The extension is meant to lead to a phase-down of the industry-specific tax credit. As included, the wind production tax credit will be 100 percent in 2015 and 2016, 80 percent in 2017, 60 percent in 2018 and 40 percent in 2019.
In a release Grassley said, ?As the father of the first wind energy tax credit in 1992, I can say that the tax credit was never meant to be permanent.? ?I also can say that the wind energy industry is the only energy industry that came forward with a phase-out plan. The oil and nuclear industries have benefited from tax incentives that have been permanently on the books for decades,? Grassley said.
The tax package also includes an extension of the existing biodiesel fuel blenders credit, the small agri-biodiesel producer credit, the tax credit for cellulosic biofuels producers, the alternative fuel vehicle refueling tax credit, and bonus depreciation for cellulosic biofuel facilities. Grassley authored the initial version of many of the alternative fuels provisions when he was Finance Committee chairman.
