Loss of Ethanol Incentives Could Cost Jobs in Half the Nation

New research indicates that allowing the ethanol tax incentives to expire at the end of this year would mean job losses in 25 states, not just the Midwest.

According to additional research conducted by economist John Urbanchuk, non-traditional ethanol producing states like California, Texas, Georgia, Colorado, and Tennessee would be hit by job losses due to the expiration of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC).

Urbanchuk’s research finds that while Midwestern states would be hit the hardest, thousands of jobs would be at stake in the West, the South, the Great Plains and the Northeast. The number of jobs lost ranges from as few as 16 in Louisiana, to nearly 30,000 in Illinois.

The state by state breakdown of potential job loss resulting from a failure to extend the VEETC and the offsetting secondary tariff on imported ethanol adds a new layer of analysis to a report Urbanchuk completed in March. In that study, he calculated a loss of 112,000 jobs nationwide and a 38% reduction in U.S ethanol production capacity if these tax incentives were allowed to expire. The report was prepared by Urbanchuk for the Renewable Fuels Association.

source: domesticfuel