According to authorities, the U.S. Treasury Department is looking for feedback from the public on how to execute $270 billion in new federal tax benefits for sectors including electric vehicles, renewable manufacturing, and energy efficiency.
The incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in August, will aid in achieving the administration’s targets of halving US carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
“We need to do the implementation properly. That means that in order to put policy into practice, we must actively listen, engage, and act rapidly “Biden nominated John Podesta to oversee the implementation of the law’s energy and climate provisions, and he told reporters over the phone.
According to Podesta, the administration would solicit feedback from groups including families, emerging clean energy sectors, and environmental justice communities that don’t frequently ask specific concerns about tax policy.
He said that the administration is attempting to answer queries about the credits, such as how simple it is for buyers of old electric vehicles to qualify for incentives.
Six notices were published on CleanEnergy.gov by the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service asking for feedback on issues such tax credits for nuclear, solar, and wind energy, incentives for energy-efficient houses, and credits for clean vehicles.
According to Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, the agency will collaborate with the IRS to implement guardrails to guarantee that the benefits are granted in accordance with Congress’ intentions. According to Adeyemo, “We’re committed to making sure that as many eligible taxpayers as possible receive credits provided by law while carefully guarding against fraud and misuse.”
The new law also gave the IRS $80 billion, the majority of which would be utilized to replace retiring personnel and boost the staffing levels of the revenue department, which have declined over the years. These climate provisions would be the primary area of emphasis, according to Adeyemo. He stated a significant amount of money would be spent on labor and technology to work on the climate provisions, but he did not give a specific number on how many more employees would be hired.
Concerns have been raised regarding which vehicles qualify for credits due to the law’s restrictions for domestic assembly of EVs. In the end, Adeyemo added, the law’s implementation “will necessitate that investments be made that will not only be beneficial to the electric car industry here in the United States, but globally.”
