WASHINGTON DC (April 23, 2020) — A bipartisan group of senators is today urging the Treasury Department to extend the safe harbor provisions for both the energy-production tax-credit and the energy investment-tax credit to accommodate the significant development slowdowns resulting from the COVID-19 public health crisis.
“As the ongoing COVID-19 crisis continues to claim lives and cause economic disruption and uncertainty, it is vital that the government take whatever reasonable steps possible to allay unforeseen burdens on American families and businesses,” the senators wrote.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles "Chuck" Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sens John Thune (R-SD), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Ranking Member Joe Manchin (D-W-VA), pushed for this policy adjustment in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Specifically, the senators are seeking an extension of the “continuity safe harbor” from four years to five years for projects that began construction in 2016 or 2017 under both tax credits. This will provide relief to projects that are near completion, but due to unavoidable setbacks related to the ongoing pandemic are at risk of losing their tax-credit eligibility. This will provide the needed certainty for businesses to move forward.
Full text of the letter follows or can be found HERE.
