| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Oklahoma lawmakers look to rein in wind industry tax credits
Credit: By SEAN MURPHY - Associated Press - Tuesday, May 12, 2015 | www.washingtontimes.com ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
The Oklahoma Legislature is poised to rein in tax subsidies for the wind industry that cost the state tens of millions of dollars each year, but the proposed changes would have no impact on the state budget for years.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Mazzei says a deal has been reached involving the wind industry, state officials and a landowner group that opposes the tax credits.
Under the deal, a five-year property tax exemption offered to wind farms would expire on Jan. 1, 2017, allowing time for several wind projects currently under construction to qualify for the credit. Mazzei says that exemption is expected to cost the state about $44 million in the upcoming fiscal year. A second subsidy called the zero-emissions tax credit paid directly to wind companies based on how much power they produce is projected to cost the state another $25 million next year, Mazzei said.
“I think everyone has realized that at $70 million, the incentive programs were becoming more than the state could afford,” said Mazzei, R-Tulsa, “but the incentives have resulted in the success of 30 active wind farms and an additional ten in development.
“So given the state’s budget constraints, I’m very pleased that all the different parties involved in this process recognize that we had to scale back on the costs.”
The zero-emissions tax credit will remain in place to keep Oklahoma competitive with other states in the so-called wind corridor that stretches from north Texas up to the Dakotas, Mazzei said.
A third tax credit that allows wind farms to qualify for an investment/new jobs tax credit also will be eliminated after Jan. 1, 2017, although the Oklahoma Tax Commission currently has no projections on how many wind companies may qualify for that subsidy.
Oklahoma rolled out the welcome mat for the wind industry a decade ago with lucrative tax incentives and a lax regulatory environment, but as the number of wind farms has skyrocketed, so too has the concern among landowners, especially in more densely populated areas in eastern Oklahoma.
“Our position is that maybe they should have been ended sooner,” said Rick Mosier, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Property Rights Association, a group formed to fight against the wind industry tax credits. “The size and scope of those incentives grew, continued to grow, and will continue to grow. The state budget can’t handle it.”
Because wind companies can qualify for the five-year exemption until 2017, the state won’t realize a cost savings until after 2021.
The bill ending the ad valorem exemption is pending in the House, while a separate measure eliminating the investment/new jobs credit is pending in the House.
___
Online:
Senate Bill 498: http://bit.ly/1Izv0gI
Senate Bill 502: http://bit.ly/1E4d9IB
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
| Wind Watch relies entirely on User Funding |
 (via Stripe) |
 (via Paypal) |
Share:
[ Short URL: https://wind-watch.org/news/?p=71660 ]
