WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives today passed critical, bipartisan legislation to provide tax relief for millions of families and businesses and to encourage the production and use of renewable energy. The legislation, H.R. 7060, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008 would extend tax credits and deductions that expired last year or would expire at the end of this year without adding to the national debt. The tax benefits in this bill are virtually identical to provisions included in legislation passed by the Senate earlier this week, including offsets, which have also been approved by the Senate.
“We’ve put together a bill that makes a lot of sense on the issues - tax relief for families and businesses, energy independence and creating new, green jobs for our economy," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY). “No one has challenged this bill on the merits."
“With this bill, we can tell our kids and our grandkids that we encouraged energy production from wind and solar to make sure that future generations aren’t hooked on foreign oil like we have been. We also make a commitment to our companies to help them conduct research and development, to compete internationally and create new jobs. We’ve also extended tax relief for families to put money back in their pockets at a time when they need it most."
“We’ve made sacrifices in this bill - we have removed controversial provisions that have drawn objections in the past. We have removed controversial offsets, instead closing loopholes and ending tax breaks that the Senate has already blessed. This bill makes sense. The only thing keeping this bill from the President’s desk is politics and I hope we can work together to jump that hurdle and I hope we can jump the hurdles and make this bill law."
H.R. 7060 would extend and provide important tax relief for individuals and families, including:
* Deduction of State and local sales tax
* Deduction of tuition and other education expenses
* Deduction of out-of-pocket expenses by teachers
* Deduction of property taxes for non-itemizers
* Relief for more than 12 million children through an expansion of the refundable child tax credit to taxpayers earning $8,500 a year.
H.R. 7060 will also provide critical tax incentives for businesses to invest in new technology by:
* Extending the research and development credit
* Extending active financing provisions
* Enhancing depreciation for restaurants
Chairman Rangel’s legislation would also help reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by encouraging the use and production of renewable energy through:
* An eight-year extension of the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy
* 2.75 year extensions of the production tax credit (PTC) for energy derived from biomass, geothermal, waves and tides, hydropower, landfill gas and solid waste
* A one-year extension of the PTC for energy derived from wind
* Tax incentives for coal electricity plants that capture and sequester carbon dioxide.
* Incentives for the production of renewable fuels such as biodiesel and renewable
* Incentives to encourage energy efficient products, such as plug-in hybrids cars, and incentives for energy conservation in both commercial buildings and residential structures
