Government Support for Domestic Ethanol Production
GAO Assessment of Challenges and Consequences
Congress supported domestic ethanol production through a $5.4 billion tax credit program in 2010. The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) or the ethanol tax credit), a 45-cent-per-gallon Federal tax credit, is provided to fuel blenders that purchase and blend ethanol with gasoline. Congress also supported domestic ethanol production through a renewable fuel standard (RFS) or the fuel standard) that applies to transportation fuels used in the United States. First enacted in 2005 and expanded in 2007, the fuel standard generally requires overall transportation fuels in the United States to contain certain volumes of biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel….
