Senate tax reform bill rejects House changes to Production Tax Credit phase down

A proposed tax reform bill from the Senate has rejected the reforms proposed by the House, seeking instead to honor the terms of a 2015-approved wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) phase-out.

In the balance, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), are 60,000 jobs and $50 billion of private investment in rural America for which the PTC has allowed. Back in 2015, such credits were approved for a gradual phase-out through 2019 by the PATH Act. The wind industry supported such legislation, for the stability and certainty it brought to the market.

“The Senate tax reform bill keeps a promise to America’s more than 100,000 wind energy workers and restores the confidence of businesses pouring billions of dollars into rural America,” AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan said. “For a rapidly growing number of Americans, including our nation’s veterans, wind power means well-paying, stable jobs. Fortunately for Americans, the Senate language honors Congress’s’ commitment to these workers and Senators Grassley, Thune, Heller and others are speaking out against retroactive tax hikes proposed in House tax legislation.”

While the Senate bill allows for the wind investment tax credit as laid out in the 2015 legislation, the House bill in question attempted to tack on a retroactive rule change that would result in a tax hike for the wind power industry. Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Goldman Sachs projected the result would be more than one-half of U.S. wind projects cut, resulting in cuts to construction and manufacturing jobs as well.

The AWEA also warns it would have a chilling effect on U.S. business interests.

“The impact of the House’s retroactive tax hike on the wind industry creates uncertainty for all industries,” the AWEA said in a statement. “If Congress can arbitrarily retroactively change the rules, any business is forced to think twice before inking a deal to invest billions in U.S. infrastructure.”