Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  The possibility of a carbon tax in the U.S. is edging closer to becoming a reality as federal officials begin to deal with the effects on the economy of global warming, according to former House Ways and Means senior tax counsel John Gimigliano, who spoke at the KPMG Global Energy Institute web seminar on August 14. Gimigliano, who is now a partner in KPMG's Washington National Tax Practice, helped draft many of the provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58).

  Gimigliano said a tax bill in 2010 could provide an opening for Congress to pass legislation that addresses global warming in a revenue-neutral manner. In 2010, lawmakers must consider capital gains and dividend tax rates, marriage tax penalty relief, estate taxes, child tax credits and the 10-percent tax bracket. In order to keep those provisions from expiring in 2010, Congress might institute a carbon tax that would generate the necessary revenues, Gimigliano suggested. A carbon tax might also pay for renewable energy tax incentives such as wind, biofuel, and solar tax credits.

  By Stephen K. Cooper, CCH News Staff