$9 Billion Tax Loophole for "Synthetic Fuel"

Here is an article to get your blood boiling this morning. The Senate and House are in conference to reconcile two version of a budget bill that includes billions in tax credits for coal plants that are basically doping coal with chemicals and passing it off as "synthetic fuel".

Its a little long, but worth the read - $9 Billion Loophole for Synthetic Fuel.

Write your senators and representatives. This is tax fraud in my opinion. Every one of the 55+ coal plants should be penalized and have to cough up every cent in taxes they avoided.

Hopefully the credit will not be renewed - OR - the synfuel industry will be made to live up to the original expectations and be required to produce bonafide synfuel and get the credit. Perhaps it's the IRS definition of "synfuel" that needs to be changed.

How does this compare to the subsidies given to ethanol producers (that benefit nobody except corn growers) or the "dual fuel" incentive for auto makers that was extended in the current budget? $9 billion would seem like a drop in the bucket.

Guy

Guy - my primary complaint is that these companies were essentially taking coal, soaking it with other chemicals, and calling it synthetic fuel. It is still coal. It still burns exactly like coal with the same byproducts. It is a fossil fuel being passed off as a synfuel so these companies can take a HUGE tax credit - which equates to dollars in their pocket in return for nothing.

I am all for tax incentives for companies that are truly doing ground breaking work in the quest for alternative fuels that are cleaner, cheaper, better for the environment, etc. It would be interesting to see many of the agriculture subsidies used as incentives for such work.