U.S. Rep. David Young, R-Iowa, is continuing his fight to protect the wind energy production tax credit (PTC). Today, he led a letter advocating that the agreement made in 2015 to phase out the PTC be preserved in the final tax bill.
The letter, also signed by nine other members of Congress, was sent to the Conference Committee reconciling the House and Senate versions of the tax bill. The letter also asks the committee to address other tax provisions that could harm wind energy producers.
“The wind energy production tax credit was a settled issue,” Young says in a press release. “Congress and wind energy producers agreed to slowly reduce the policy until it ends in 2019. Going back on the deal would be devastating for Iowa’s wind energy producers. If the policy is ended prematurely, it will undermine $30 billion in existing project deals. I will continue to fight for Iowans and renewables, which have helped Iowa’s economy grow.”
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Chairman Brady and Chairman Hatch:
We write to share our concern for three provisions included in tax legislation which, if enacted into law, would have devastating impacts to America’s wind energy sector.
Foremost, we continue to strongly support maintaining the terms of the wind energy production tax credit (PTC) phase out as it is in current law. Members of both bodies of Congress have made clear their concerns about the changes in H.R. 1 to the terms of the phase out as established under the PATH Act of 2015. The change included in H.R. 1 would create uncertainty and would undermine at least $30 billion in existing project deals. We appreciate the Senate bill did not include this change and urge a final bill retain the phase out included in the PATH Act.
Second, we urge the conferees to amend the Senate’s Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT), which as currently drafted, would create a significant disincentive to the tax equity financing structure the energy industry relies upon to finance their projects. If this issue is not addressed, tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments will be jeopardized.
Finally, like many other industries, the inclusion of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) at a 20% rate in the Senate bill would severely reduce the capacity for companies to utilize the PTC. Between the Senate’s current BEAT and AMT provisions, $95 billion of private investment is at risk across the country, in addition to 90,000 American jobs.
As we seek to create a fairer, simpler tax code, we must honor our commitments and the PTC phase out, which will be complete by 2019, and allow the wind industry to utilize those credits so they can continue lowering costs, creating jobs, and growing the economy.
