Tester, Walsh back coal tax credit for Indian Country

Senators: Measure ‘helps create jobs, secure tribal self-determination’

(U.S. SENATE) – Senators Jon Tester and John Walsh this week pushed the Senate Finance Committee to include the Indian Coal Production Tax Credit in the next round of tax legislation.

Tester, Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and Walsh say the tax credit makes it easier for tribes to create jobs and strengthen their economies by responsibly developing their natural resources.

“Reauthorizing the Indian Coal Production Tax Credit is critical to the financial stability, self-sufficiency and self-determination of several Tribes,” Tester and Walsh said. “Not only does responsible resource development have the potential of reducing unemployment on reservations, it also promotes Tribal sovereignty.”

Tester and Walsh also told the Committee that revenue from energy projects supports tribal education, health care and emergency services. They called on the Committee to provide continued support for the tax credit, knowing it will increase economic certainty and help tribes plan for the future.

“Continued support of this extension will provide the kind of certainty to make the incentive effective for long-term business planning, which is critical for large energy development projects.”

“We are extremely thankful to Senator Tester and Senator Walsh for championing this critical effort to extend the Indian Coal Production Tax Credit in the Senate,” Crow Chairman Darrin Old Coyote said. “We rely on this tax credit to create revenues to support our tribal programs and provide much needed jobs to our tribal and local communities. We cannot thank them enough for their commitment to extend this tax credit.”

The Indian Coal Production Tax Credit helps Tribes develop their coal responsibly by providing a tax credit to the owner of an Indian coal production facility. From 2006 to 2009, these facilities were eligible for a credit of $1.50 per ton of Indian coal. That credit rose to $2 per ton from 2010 to 2013. In Montana, the Crow Tribe is eligible to make use of this credit.

Tester and Walsh’s letter to the Finance Committee is also signed by Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

Tester and Walsh’s letter to the Senate Finance Committee by les_braswell5524