It’s certainly no secret: the cost of renewable energy production and its implementation can be extremely high. This is the very reason why tax credits are often used to enable renewable energy sources to compete with fossil fuels.
With rising oil and natural gas prices, the war in Iraq and environmental problems centering on global warming and air pollution, our nation is concerned about their energy security and environmental issues. The United States is recognizing the need and power of renewable energy and is supporting its development through federal income tax credits and incentives.
President George Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into law on August 8, 2005. It took over four years for Congress to pass after reviewing several different versions. It extended tax credits for wind and biomass energies for two more years and included additional tax credits for solar, geothermal and ocean energy.
Solar tax credits apply to residential and business users. This tax credit would pertain to eligible equipment installed between 1/1/06 and 12/31/08. The equipment installed would include those solar systems that generate electricity, heat and cool or provide hot water to structures. It must also be operational in the first year the credit is taken and the taxpayer must be the original user. The credit is 30% with a $2,000 cap for each unit for residential taxpayers and it is 30% with a no business cap specified for corporate users. After 12/31/08 the corporate tax credit will return to 10%.
The geothermal corporate credit remains at 10% with no maximum stated. This credit does not apply to geothermal heat pumps and is limited to geothermal energy equipment that produces, uses or distributes energy derived from geothermal deposits. A personal tax credit of 10% with a $300 maximum can be taken for geothermal heat pumps.
The federal government also included production tax credits for renewable energies. These credits allow companies to invest in renewable technologies and write the investment off against other investments. This was a major push of support for renewable energy technologies. The credit was extended until December 31, 2008. The credits are 1.9 cents per kWh for wind, geothermal, closed-loop biomass and 1.0 cent per kWh for hydroelectric power, landfill gas, municipal solid waste and open-loop biomass. These pertain to the first ten years of operation
Similar to production tax credits, there were also provisions for renewable energy production incentives (REPI) for state and local governments, as well as, nonprofit electrical cooperatives. The enacted law included new qualifying energy generation facilities for solar, wind, biomass (excluding municipal solid waste combustion) landfill gas and certain types of dry steam geothermal energy. It was extended through fiscal year 2016 and also included ocean and wave energy.
These credits will be applied to any amount that remains after any other state or utility incentives have been taken. There are numerous states that do offer incentives also. Some new state incentives include a California state rebate program for photovoltaics, an Illinois state grant program for wind energy, a New Jersey state rebate program for geothermal heat pumps and a Pennsylvania property tax assessment for wind energy. These are just a few of the many state incentives that exist.
The United States government and the individual states are promoting renewable energy sources as an energy source to be encouraged. With all the incentives available, this may be one of the best times to make your air cleaner with a commitment toward this energy. With everyone’s support we can recharge renewable energy’s development.
Do you often procrastinate filing your income tax return? If you do, you’re not alone, especially if you live in one of the cities listed below. A leading tax software package provider tallied the returns that were filed between April 14th and April 17th, and these are the cities with the highest number of procrastinators:
10. San Jose, California
When it comes to size, San Jose is number 3 in California and number 10 in the United States. Sadly, when it comes to tax procrastination, San Jose is also number 10.
9. Phoenix
Despite being one of the cities that’s growing faster in the country, Phoenix isn’t so quick in other areas, as it’s currently number 9 in tax procrastination.
8. Seattle
Unlike 2005, when Seattle didn’t even appear on this list, 2006 found the Emerald City at number 8 position on the procrastination list.
7. San Antonio, Texas
The state of Texas has no less than three cities among the top 10, starting with the Alamo City.
6. San Diego, California
San Diego improved highly since last year, when they were on the top of the list, but they still have a long way to go before they’re out of the top 10 list.
5. San Francisco, California
With all the technology the residents of San Francisco have at their disposal 24 x 7, it’s easy to understand why they often wait until the last minute to go online and file their income tax returns.
4. Austin, Texas
The second city of the state of Texas to make an appearance on this list was missing last year. In 2006, though, Austin was number 4 among the top 10 tax procrastinators.
3. New York, New York
Being one of the cities with most residents in the USA, it was expectable that New York would also be one of the cities with the highest number of procrastinators.
2. Chicago, Illinois
Chicago may not like to be called “Second City,” but if the IRS has anything to say about it, that’s what it is. For the last 3 years Chicago has been moving up the list, one spot at a time.
1. Houston, Texas
The fourth biggest city in the United States and largest city in Texas is also number 1 on the list of American tax procrastinators.
State treasuries serve as the banks of the state; they also manage the money of the state, and therefore serve a vital role in their overall economic success. Universal among the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, New York and Michigan is the role of the treasurer and their attitudes on university education. Each department functions to invest state funds in order to maximize profit, thereby increasing their revenue so that the public can be better assisted. Each state has an unclaimed property fund to help lost items reach their owners, and each state has a savings program implemented to assist parents in saving for their children’s education. Below is a short description of some of the more interesting programs and information about each state:
Alabama State Treasury
* Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program(PACT):This investing plan helps families by allowing them to purchase a contract to prepay 135 semester hours of college tuition at any college or university around the country * The Security for Alabama Funds Enhancement (SAFE): This program involves banks in securing their own funds by requiring them to pledge collateral to the Treasury Department for a collateral pool
Kentucky State Treasury
* The Treasurer position was among the first created by the state constitution in 1792; they are elected every four years and act as the chief elected fiscal officer * KEES program: This is a lottery program set up to raise money to send graduating high school seniors to college * Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System: Oversees the pensions and savings of teachers
Illinois State Treasury
* Agriculture and Alternative Agriculture Loan Program: Offered to farmers or agriculture specialists who produce alternative products such as grapes, strawberries, or hydroponically grown food. Also for those who are in the Christmas Tree growing, fish farming or wine-making business * Bank At School: This program helps elementary school children learn the basics of money management by partnering a local bank with a school to run an in-school bank.
New York State Treasury
* Linked Deposit Program: This program was started to encourage small businesses in the state to invest. Banks offer a 2-3% lower interest rate on loans * International Fuel Tax Agreement project: this plan simplifies how commercial motor carriers report their fuel use taxes. With this plan they can buy one license that can be used throughout IFTA jurisdictions.
Michigan State Treasury
* Taxable Tobacco Settlement Asset-Backed Bonds: the proceeds from the sale of these bonds is used to buy tobacco receipts and proceeds are deposited in the 21st Century Jobs Trust Fund to create more high-tech jobs. * Michigan Municipal Bond Authority (MMBA) : Established in 1985 to give schools and other areas of government a different financing source to use for certain projects