The New Fuels: NCCR Welcomes Bill to End Ethanol Tax Credit and Tariff

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WASHINGTON--May 4, 2011: The National Council of Chain Restaurants today welcomed the introduction of legislation that would repeal a 45 cents-per-gallon tax credit for ethanol producers and a tariff on imported ethanol.

“This tax credit and the ethanol import tariff are outdated and no longer necessary for an industry that can and should stand on its own”

"This tax credit and the ethanol import tariff are outdated and no longer necessary for an industry that can and should stand on its own," National Council of Chain Restaurants Executive Director Rob Green said. "These subsidies and tax breaks cost Americans billions of dollars out of the U.S. Treasury each year and untold billions more in higher food costs. It's time to end these outmoded subsidies, and we urge Congress to move swiftly to achieve this goal."

Senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., on Tuesday joined forces to introduce the Ethanol Subsidy and Tariff Repeal Act. The measure is cosponsored by Senators Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and James Risch, R-Idaho.

The bill, which is expected to be offered as an amendment to a small business bill pending in the Senate, would repeal the $6 billion-a-year Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, which directs 45 cents to refiners for every gallon of ethanol they blend with gasoline, effective July 1. It would also repeal an ethanol tariff comprised of a .54-cent Most Favored Nation duty and a 2.5 percent tax.

NCCR opposes the tax credit and tariff because they encourage the use of U.S. corn for ethanol production while discouraging the importation of lower-cost ethanol that would help the United States meet its energy needs without diverting crops needed for food production. The use of corn for ethanol drives up the cost of a wide range of food, from corn itself to meat from corn-fed livestock.

For more than 40 years, NCCR has worked to advance sound public policy that best serves the interests of restaurant businesses and the millions of people they employ. NCCR members include many the country's most well-respected quick-serve and casual-dining companies. NCCR is a division of the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade group. NCCR