US president signs biofuels bill
The president signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 in the afternoon, following a late night approval from the US House on 16 December.
The Senate approved the legislation on 15 December.
For ethanol, the legislation includes:
Blender’s Credit for Ethanol (VEETC). The bill extends the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit through 2011 at the current rate of 45¢ (€0.34) per gallon;
Tariff on Imported Ethanol: the bill also extends through 2011 the existing 54¢, secondary tariff on imported ethanol and the related tariff on ethyl tertiary-butyl ether;
Small Producer Tax Credit: extends through 2011 the 10¢-per-gallon producer tax credit for small ethanol producers producing no more 60 million gallons of ethanol a year. The tax credit is applicable to just the first 15 million gallons of production for eligible producers;
Excise tax credits for alternative fuel and alternative fuel mixtures. The measure extends through 2011 the 50¢-per-gallon alternative fuel credit and the alternative fuel mixture tax credits, excluding black liquor (liquid fuel derived from a pulp or paper manufacturing process) from credit eligibility;
Alternative fuel vehicle refueling property: the measure extends the 30% investment tax credit for alternative vehicle refueling property for one year, through 2011.
For biodiesel the legislation retroactively extends the tax credit through 2010 and renews it for 2011.