Podcast: VEETC important to support jobs in rural communities

In this podcast, Tim Scheer, a farmer from St. Paul and a member of the Nebraska Corn Board, talks about the importance of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, or VEETC, to the ethanol industry and rural communities.

VEETC, which is up for renewal this year, provides oil refiners and fuel blenders a 45-cent per gallon tax credit on each gallon of ethanol they blend with gasoline. This credit provides an important economic incentive to invest in equipment to blend and use ethanol, which in turn supports growth and advancements in the sector.

Extending VEETC for five years was included in HR 4940, the Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act. The legislation would also extend the Small Producers Tax Credit, which is a special credit for smaller ethanol companies, many of which are farmer-owned. The act was introduced recently in the US House of Representatives and needs the backing of ethanol supporters to ensure it passes.

If VEETC is allowed to expire, Nebraska would loose more than 13,700 jobs, according to a study released by the Renewable Fuels Association. Most of those jobs would be lost in and around rural Nebraska communities that support an ethanol facility.


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