“Gas stations in Michigan now have greater incentive to provide alternative fuel to the public,” The Michigan Policy Network writes. “Though it may not be quite the incentive they were looking for. A recently passed bill will provide a tax credit to gas station owners who install or upgrade existing fuel pumps to dispense E85 or biodiesel fuel. The credit is for up to 30% of the total costs of installing or upgrading the pump, with a cap placed at $20,000 per taxpayer per year.” But Wolverine State taxpayers shouldn’t worry too much: “The tax credit will be available from January 1, 2009 until December 31, 2012 and station owners must first receive a certificate of approval from the Energy Office of Michigan. In addition, there is a $1 million cap placed on the total amount of tax credits that can be given out during any given year. The Senate Fiscal Agency analysis notes that the likelihood of reaching this $1 million cap is very low considering the diminutive demand for these kinds of pumps currently.”
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Awesome. That’s a way better use for my tax dollars than, say, fixing our craptacular roads.
Yeah, I wouldn’t be jumping on this one if I owned a filling station. The taxpayers kick in 30% of the cost of putting in something the customers don’t want. Oh boy, what a deal!
Government incentives do not equall a sustainable consumer demand.
Small potatoes.
A few billion for ethanol is a tiny part of the trillion dollar bailout packages.
It appears as though the government has an unlimited amount of money.
That’s the idea :) Our infinite source of cash collapsed, so the government is making their own. Nothing particularly bad except for the fact that US government default will be a lot worse than Lehmann Brothers. Either way, 5 more years of fun, spend while you can. Stock up on canned food and shotgun shells in the meantime, it’s gonna get ugly.
These boondoggles get votes, but fixing the roads really doesn’t. It’s currently a real problem with our Democracy that we need to figure out how to fix.
I heard on the news with the flex fuel vinyl cars that only 1% runs on flex fuel. Seems like another way and reason for the govt to shove their hands down your back pocket.
Every dollar spent buying ethanol is a dollar that recirculates into the American economy. You buy regular gasoline and a minimum 40% leaves the country. With high unemployment you might want to keep dollars in America to help create new jobs.