Members of Congress should extend the biodiesel blenders’ tax credit when they take up legislation that would overhaul the country’s tax code, the association representing truck stops and travel plazas indicated recently.
“For the vast majority of consumers, the difference of just a few pennies in the price of a gallon of fuel can affect whether or not they decide to make a purchase,” Lisa Mullings, CEO of Natso, formerly the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, wrote in May to the leaders of the tax policy committees in the House and Senate.
“The biodiesel tax credit helps fuel retailers to sell biodiesel at a cost that is competitive with traditional diesel. If the price of biodiesel is no longer on par with the price of diesel, consumers won’t be inclined to buy it. Congress already has considered, and rightly rejected, past efforts to shift the biodiesel blenders’ tax credit to the producer’s credit,” she added.
Natso argued the tax credit helps to displace traditional petroleum-based fuel with a cleaner-burning substitute.
Yet lawmakers from states where biodiesel is produced and where its feedstock is grown continue to push to convert the biodiesel blenders’ tax credit to a producers’ credit. According to Natso, the producers’ credit would drive up biodiesel prices, and it could discourage consumers from buying the product. Joining Natso’s outreach to federal tax policy authorizers were American Trucking Associations, the National Association of Convenience Stores and the Advanced Biofuels Association.
Congressional Republican leaders said they intend to restructure tax policies after the House advanced a replacement of former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.
