Democrats Plan to Reverse Tax Break

As someone said to me just now by e-mail, “It ain’t about the fuel… it’s about a piece of the pie.”

Democrats Plan to Reverse Tax Break for ConocoPhillips, Tyson

April 20 (Bloomberg) — Democrats in Congress plan to reverse an Internal Revenue Service ruling that allowed ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods Inc. to benefit from a tax break for producing alternative energy.

If adopted, the legislation would threaten a joint venture announced this week by ConocoPhillips and Tyson to produce diesel fuel from animal fat.

ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Jim Mulva said the companies wouldn’t proceed if they didn’t qualify for the tax credit, worth $1 per gallon of renewable diesel produced.

“It’s not profitable without the $1 tax credit,” Mulva said April 16 at a news conference in Houston. “It’s very important and significant in going forward at this point in time.”

It also angered the American Soybean Association, which fears refiners may begin shipping in less-expensive foreign palm oil to replace U.S. soy oil at the government’s expense.

Yeah, don’t try to tell me it’s about supporting alternative energy. It is about special interests. This tax credit will increase the renewable fuel in the U.S. It would decrease our reliance on foreign oil. And it wouldn’t take one dime away from current biodiesel producers. They just don’t want any competition.