US President Barack Obama has released his Budget Request for the Fiscal Year starting on October 1, 2012 (FY 2013). NGVAmerica reports that for the first time, the proposed budget includes requests for a number of NGV incentives, many of which are similar to provisions that are in the NAT GAS Acts (HR 1380 and S. 1863). The tax proposals are outlined and explained in the US Treasury’s “Green Book”. The following is a list of the NGV provisions with a reference to the corresponding page number in the Green Book where an explanation is provided:
- Provide a Tax Credit for Medium & Heavy-Duty Alternative Fuel Vehicles (page 34). The credit is $20,000 for vehicles weighing more than 14,000 pounds but not more than 26,000 pounds and $40,000 for vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds. However, incentives for light-duty vehicles are not included.
- Extend several expiring tax credits through FY 2013 (page 65 and Table 4) including six alternative fuel incentives: biodiesel, renewable diesel, alternative fuel, alternative fuel mixtures, cellulosic biofuel, alternative fuel vehicle refueling property, plug-in hybrid conversion.
- Extend to 100 percent the first-year depreciation deduction for qualified property (pages 3-4). This provision was available at 100 percent during the period September 8, 2010 to December 31, 2011. It currently is available at 50 percent.
- Request $26.5 million in funding for the Clean Cities program for FY 2013.
The next step is for the House and Senate Budget Committees to hold hearings on the President’s request. They will then set spending limits for the Budget committees and for Appropriations subcommittees, which then will approve individual appropriations bills to allocate funding to the various federal programs. The Budget resolutions and appropriations bills, which will reflect the spending priorities of this Congress, will almost definitely differ from the funding levels in the President’s budget request. However, the President’s budget is an important first step in the process and it is the first time that NGVs have made it into the Budget request.
Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVAmerica) is a national organization dedicated to the development of a growing, sustainable and profitable market for vehicles powered by natural gas or hydrogen.
