Statewide Iowa – The tax credit for biodiesel production is set to expire at the end of this year, and Senator Chuck Grassley believes that Congress is unlikely to address the issue in December, reported Kiwa Radio.
However, Republicans in Congress are aiming to extend a package of tax cuts originally approved in 2017 early next year, and Grassley suggests that the biodiesel production tax credit could potentially be included in that legislation.
Iowa, the nation’s top producer of biodiesel, saw its nine biodiesel plants produce approximately 350 million gallons of soybean-based fuel last year. The biodiesel tax credit, which was first introduced in 2005, has been extended multiple times. Grassley also pointed out that the U.S. Treasury Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should have already made rulings on the scope of other tax incentives for renewable fuels.
Earlier this year, in February, the EPA approved the sale of a 15% ethanol blend (E-15) year-round at gas stations in Iowa and seven other Midwestern states. However, the higher ethanol blend is still prohibited in other states during the summer months due to concerns that E-15 could contribute to smog in hotter weather.
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