Industry applauds legislation to eliminate ethanol subsidy
Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) have introduced a bill to repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, saying that it would save taxpayers $6 billion. The tax credit currently provides 45 cents a gallon to blenders of ethanol. Last week, the Government Accountability Office released a report describing the tax credit as “largely unneeded today to ensure demand for domestic ethanol production,” reports Accounting Today.
“The ethanol tax credit is bad economic policy, bad energy policy and bad environmental policy,” Coburn said in a statement. “The $6 billion we waste every year on corporate welfare should instead stay in taxpayers’ pockets where it can be used to spur innovation, stimulate growth and create jobs. I’m hopeful my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will take a stand against business-as-usual special interest giveaways and eliminate this wasteful and harmful subsidy.”