Dear Member of Congress:
On behalf of the362,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I urge you to avoid theapproach to tax and energy policy prescribed in H.R. 1380, the New AlternativeTransportation to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) Act. Rather than attemptto pick winners and losers in the marketplace, Washington should evenly applylower taxation across the spectrum of energy technologies in order to allowfree markets to deliver the best outcomes for consumers.
Over the pastseveral decades, Washington has placed a cumbersome thumb on the scale of theenergy marketplace. This has often taken the form of mandates and refundabletax credits to support preferred industries, while implementing regulations andpunitive taxes to hinder disfavored ones. Such heavy-handed manipulation hasstifled the development of promising technologies, leading to reduced economicgrowth and higher energy costs.
Rather thanbegin the process of disentangling the web of government intervention chokingefficient energy production, the NAT GAS Act would complicate the problem. Theaim of H.R. 1380 is to utilize tax preferences and mandates to promote the productionand use of natural gas vehicles, purportedly to advance domestic energydevelopment. But there is no reason that this goal cannot be achieved withoutthe market-distortions inherent in federal government involvement. In fact,according to the trade group Natural Gas Vehicles for America, there arealready more than 12 million natural gas vehicles on the road worldwide andnatural gas costs, on average, one-third less than conventional gasoline. Giventhese inherent qualities, consumers and investors ought to find this promisingtechnology attractive in its own right. If current government policies areimpeding this process, then Congress should be removing barriers rather thancarving out special interest provisions in tax laws.
If Congresstruly wants to ensure that Americans have access to reliable and affordableenergy sources, we encourage Members to follow the guidelines laid out in acoalition letter organized by NTU and signed by nearly 30 groups united inopposition to distortionary energy schemes. Namely, Congress should begin theprocess of dismantling the existing preferences that have been built into lawin order to simplify and reduce tax burdens for all. Policymakers shouldneither favor nor punish particular industries or companies. In the near-term,elected officials could also open an economy-wide “repatriation window” tobring overseas profits back to our shores at less oppressive tax rates. Hereagain, this all-inclusive approach, even though temporary, would likely do muchmore to spur viable energy development than H.R. 1380.
Asthe world’s energy needs grow, functioning free markets, not interventioniststyle policies like the NAT GAS Act, will be necessary to successfully pushtechnological development. Congress’ effort would be better spent onrestructuring the entire tax system than continuing to tinker with its shakystructure.
Sincerely,Brandon GreifeFederalGovernment Affairs Manager