Burlington, Ontario, 6-October-2008 - After months of House and Senate, Republican and Democrat wrangling, the energy tax extenders were passed on October 3. The Senate backed the House into a corner by adding the extenders to the $700 billion financial rescue package that had become legislation and could not be rejected a second time around. Heck – what is $17 billion in energy tax incentives compared to $700 billion?

Here is a partial list of what was included in the energy tax extenders:

• Extension to 2016 for the 30% tax credit for solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property;
• Extension to 2016 for the 10% tax credit for microturbines;
• New 10% tax credit for combined heat and power systems and geothermal heat pumps;
• One year extension for the tax credit for production from wind and refined coal facilities and extends to production from marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities put in place before 2012;
• An array of incentives related to Industrial Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration and Carbon Capture and Sequestration;
• Accelerated tax depreciation for reuse and recycling property and smart meters;
• Extension to 2009 for the R&D tax credit; and
• A break on the taxable benefits charged to bicycle commuter employees who are provided storage by their employers.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story. A new president and a new Congress will be revisiting the energy tax extenders in early 2009, as they have to deal with the unfolding economic realities.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss any of the energy efficiency tax incentives. As we have noted before, you can only take full advantage of these various tax incentives if you know enough about them.