Article Author:
Associated Press
David A. Lieb
Jefferson City, Missouri (AP) — Missouri Supreme Court decision moving as US government expands incentives for renewable energy. Turn the state the other way by suspending the solar energy tax break that has been on the books for almost a decade.
The law signed into law by President Joe Biden on Tuesday put some $375 billion into initiatives to combat climate change over his decade. This includes increasing the production of clean energy, such as wind and solar power, and tax breaks for consumers to install solar panels on their property.
Last week, at about the same time that the Missouri Supreme Court overruled a 2013 state law that granted property tax exemptions to certain solar energy systems, Democrats passed the bill after a split in the The court said no tax cuts are allowed under the state constitution.
The lawsuit concerned a privately-run solar farm that supplies energy to utilities in the city of Springfield, Missouri's third largest city. As a result of the ruling, the company that owns the solar energy farm will owe at least $423,360 in property taxes from 2017 through 2020, said Greene County collector Allen Isset.
It is not clear whether other solar energy sites in Missouri may be affected by the ruling, or exactly how much tax revenue is at stake.
However, as the federal government seeks to encourage, the ruling could adversely affect Missouri's solar energy development.
"If you have to pay a tax on this renewable and free energy-producing material, this obviously has a huge twist and cost when someone is trying to place a large panel system." sho," he said. said John Dolan, executive director of the Missouri Solar Energy Industry Association.
Federal and state governments have long offered certain incentives for solar energy. Since 2005, the federal income tax exemption for people who install solar panels or make other energy efficiency improvements on their property has been renewed several times. The law Biden signed extends the tax credit he has until 2034.
{40New federal legislation includes billions of dollars in tax dollars to encourage investment in clean energy manufacturing facilities and offset the cost of producing solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and more. It also includes deductions.
Since the early 2000s, many states have funded rebates for residents to improve energy efficiency. Some of these programs have been phased out, but the state continues to offer other incentives for renewable energy.
According to a database maintained by the North Carolina State Center for Clean Energy Technologies at North Carolina State University, 39 states and the District of Columbia offer some form of property tax credit for solar energy systems. there is Some states offer a complete tax exemption, while others only for a limited period of time or only for residential solar systems. Some states authorize local officials to exempt property taxes for solar energy systems.
The Missouri court ruling is "unusual" nationally, said Brian Lipps, senior project manager for policy at the North Carolina Center for Clean Energy Technologies. .
"A lot of these incentives are basically on autopilot right now," Lips said. "So it's interesting that the state is questioning something, especially one that has been in place for a long time."
Missouri will not eliminate incentives for solar energy. A new state law, effective Aug. 28, provides sales tax exemptions for companies that purchase components to build solar energy systems. The law also creates a task force to study solar energy policy, with a particular focus on those who distribute energy from their own solar panels to the grid.
