Tax breaks for wind power mean little new revenue for rural schools
Wind turbine companies "have lobbied for low or non-existent property taxes and steep depreciation schedules," meaning little new revenue for rural school districts from the giant windmills that dot the Midwest and Plains, says the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting and Flatland, a part of Kansas City PBS. In an introduction to four stories about wind power, the MCIR and Flatland say their multi-state collaboration uncovered "how states like Kansas have given away the wind farm."
Grassley sees wind, solar phase-down where Pruitt wants a cut off
Although EPA administrator Scott Pruitt favors elimination of tax credits for wind and solar power, he isn't calling the shots for the administration, said Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the No. 2 state in wind-generated electricity. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin "will be in the room when these agreements are made," said Grassley, a member of the tax-writing Finance Committee, and Mnuchin backs an ongoing phase-down of wind and solar tax credits."
Drive to renew tax ‘extenders’ stretches into final weeks
Lawmakers are "headed for another last-minute, end-of-the-year renewal" of five-dozen tax breaks that expired at the end of 2014, reports Agri-Pulse, which quotes House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy as saying, "In these situations, it's always coming down to the last week to see what mix we're able to get."