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Senators Recommend Expanding Energy Tax Incentives
As part of the federal government’s efforts to stimulate the lagging U.S. economy, Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) recommended in a Jan. 6 letter to President-elect Barack Obama significant expansions in two important energy tax incentives that promote energy-efficient construction.
“It is paramount that stimulus funding be utilized for capital improvements,” the legislators wrote, “and our nation’s building stock offers one of the greatest opportunities to see an immediate and long-term return on this investment.”
Among other energy tax incentives, the present tax code provides a $2,000 credit to builders of qualified energy-efficient homes and a $1.80-per-square-foot deduction for installation of certain energy-efficient features in commercial buildings, including multifamily properties four or more stories above grade. The former — the Section 45L new energy-efficient home tax credit — expires at the end of 2009, while the latter — the Section 179D energy-efficient commercial building deduction — sunsets at the end of 2013.
The senators propose to increase the impact of these incentives by extending the tax credit for three years and increasing the credit amount to $5,000. They also propose increasing the deduction from $1.80 per square foot to $3 per square foot through the end of 2011.
“By investing in highly efficient homes, the U.S. can lower home owners’ monthly energy bills for the life of the home and allow them to invest in their own and their children’s future,” the lawmakers argue.
NAHB has supported extending and expanding these important incentives to improve the energy efficiency of the nation’s housing stock and applauds the senators’ recommendations and leadership on this issue.
For more information, e-mail Elizabeth Odina at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8570; or contact Greg Brown, x8421, or Robert Dietz, x8285.
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