Senate Joins House in Passing Tax Extenders
New House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) had filed an amendment Dec. 7 to H.R. 34 to re-establish those tax credits of up to 30% of the cost of natural-gas refueling equipment up to $30,000 and tax credits of $.50 per gallon for both liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas. Those provisions were incorporated in the final measure that was approved by huge margins in both chambers.
“It’s great news,” said Matthew Godlewski. president of Natural Gas Vehicles For America. “It helps us that they broke the cycle of the last couple of years and approved the credits for 2016, as well. That gives a little incentive to those [companies] that might be building stations or looking to expand. The most sensible way to do it would have been to have the credits for five years, especially given the current fuel prices, because then you would really see some growth in our business. But the bill reflects our industry’s priorities. We believe that the leadership of both parties understands the importance of fuel diversity in our economy. [New House Speaker Paul Ryan] has tried to make his mark on this [budget] process.”
The Senate had passed its version of the legislation in July. So the two versions had to be reconciled before the final bill could emerge.
Several other energy-related provisions also were extended. These include the Alternative Fuel Excise Tax Credit, the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit and the Biodiesel Blender Tax Credit. The bill also modifies the fuel credit for LNG to make it consistent with the change adopted earlier this year that applied the fuel excise tax on a diesel gallon equivalent basis and not on a volumetric-gallon basis.
American Trucking Associations, which joined NGVA, American Public Gas Association, the Coalition For Renewable Natural Gas, National Waste & Recycling Association, Solid Waste Association of North America and the Truck Renting and Leasing Association in calling for a three-year extension, was supportive of Brady’s bill.
“These tax credits are important, and I think will become more important once natural gas gets back on its feet,” said Glen Kedzie, ATA’s counsel for environmental affairs. “The difference in price between diesel and natural gas has gotten so compressed. Your up-front costs on natural-gas vehicles are so much more, your federal excise tax is so much higher, the aftermarket hasn’t been established. Your retrofitting and maintenance and refueling costs are so high that with the margins being so short that natural gas doesn’t make a whole lot of economic sense at this time.”
Kedzie stressed that ATA is fuel-neutral.
“We want to make sure that our members have the opportunity to use the fuel that makes the most sense for them,” he said. “Trucks that are the same weight and hauling the same amount of goods are being penalized for using natural gas, which is the best alternative we have to diesel.”
