Senate Passes Extension of Renewable Production and Investment Tax Credits

Date: September 26, 2008

Source: News Room

The US Senate passed legislation that extends the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for renewable energy development. By an overwhelming margin of 93 to 2, the Senate extended the PTC for one year and the ITC for eight years, with both tax credits to be paid for in part by changes in the tax code for oil and gas companies. The tax credit extensions are part of an $18 billion energy package that is itself part of a larger stop-gap spending bill to keep the government running when the new federal fiscal year begins on October 1. The House of Representatives is expected to make changes which will in turn, likely require further Senate debate and approval.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urged House legislators to accept the tax package as is. "I hope they will take into account the seriousness of how difficult it has been for us to get this passed," Reid said. "Don't send us back something else. We can't get it passed." The House had previously passed an energy bill that would open up the Outer Continental Shelf to new oil and gas exploration.

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