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Next Three Weeks Crucial on Tax Bill Containing Wind Production Tax Credit

Top Congressional tax negotiators Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) have reached an understanding aimed at breaking the logjam on tax legislation. At the same time, Congress is struggling to conclude the session in the first or second week of October. Under the evolving plan, a separate tax bill on family tax credits would be acted on next week. This group of tax credits is an election-year priority for the Bush Administration. The bill would: – Maintain the child tax credit at the maximum level of $1,000 through 2009; – Maintain relief from the "marriage tax penalty" through 2008; – Maintain the current upper limit on the 10% income tax bracket through 2007; and – Maintain current exemptions from the Alternative Minimum Tax through 2006. All of these provisions are now set to expire on December 31. The Corporate Tax/JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Strength) bill (H.R. 4520) containing the wind energy production tax credit (PTC) and many other energy tax credits would be acted on after the family tax credit bill. For over a week, Sen. Grassley had insisted on linking action on the two tax bills. At a noon meeting held on September 17 attended by […]

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California Industry Posed to Provide World-Leading Technologies, Jobs for Cleaner, More Efficient Vehicles

A new report from CALSTART on California's transportation industry finds the state is a leader in the core skills needed to design and produce technologies that can reduce global warming pollution from vehicles. Moreover, as requirements to reduce this pollution grow, the companies producing these technologies stand to substantially increase their California jobs and investments. CALSTART's report, "California's Clean Vehicle Industry," takes a snapshot of companies involved in or capable of producing technologies that can reduce global warming pollution in vehicles. It outlines the potential size of the market for products that reduce such emissions, and then surveys a cross section of those companies to find what impact increased requirements to reduce the emissions in vehicles will have on their operations. The overwhelming response was that California high-tech companies have the needed skills to respond to such requirements, and projected that their jobs and investments would grow as a result. Says CALSTART's President and CEO John Boesel, "Climate-friendly cars would tap the core skills of the state in what could be a $20-billion domestic business, and can lead to more high-quality jobs in engineering, electronics and software design." The key findings of the report are: ** California is a leader […]

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