President Obama approves ethanol, biodiesel, plug-in charger tax credit extension

On December 10th, the Senate voted to approve an $858-billion tax cut package that provides a significant amount of incentives for the clean vehicle sector. Late last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives, by nearly a 2-1 margin, passed the bill, paving the way for President Obama to sign the bill into law, which he did on Friday.

The tax bill includes a provision to extend, through 2011, the 45-cent-per-gallon ethanol tax credit and a 54-cent tariff on imported ethanol, as well as a 10-cent credit for small-scale U.S. producers of the corn-based fuel. In addition to subsidies for ethanol, the bill also includes an extension of the $1-per-gallon biodiesel tax credit through the end of 2011 and a 50-cent-per-gallon credit for producers of natural gas used in vehicles.

On the plug-in front, the tax cut bill includes the "Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit," which enables residents to claim up to $1,000 in credits for installing a home charging station and businesses to receive up to $30,000 for chargers installed at commercial locations. These numbers are lower than they were for 2010, when the limits were $2,000 and $50,000, respectively.

Source: Green Car Advisor