House Democrats unveil green tax package

House Democrats unveiled a major green tax package Thursday, offering tax incentives for renewables, electric vehicles and a host of other environmentally friendly businesses.

“This bill uses our tax code to expand the deployment of renewable energy by extending and expanding the federal tax incentives to promote clean energy technologies and supports widespread deployment of zero-emissions vehicles. All this is an investment in creating new efficiency and emissions models to reduce our carbon footprint,” Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), the main sponsor of the bill, said in a release.

“And it’s a down payment on our work to tackle climate change and pass on a better world to our children and grandchildren,” he added.

The legislation would extend several renewable energy tax breaks, including the production tax credit and the investment tax credit.

It also would expand the electric vehicle tax credit and create new tax credits for buyers of used electric cars and manufacturers of zero-emission commercial vehicles and buses.

Additionally, it would create a tax credit for colleges and universities for environmental justice programs. And it would direct the Treasury Department to analyze the feasibility of setting a price on carbon dioxide emissions, using Environmental Protection Agency data.

House Democrats have also included similar tax breaks for renewables in a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package unveiled earlier this week. 

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for some assistance for the renewable energy industry. More than 600,000 clean energy jobs, including nearly 100,000 renewable power generation jobs, have been lost since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.