Oklahoma’s Incentive Evaluation Commission will resume consideration this week of recommendations to cut tax credits to the wind industry sooner than planned.
The Commission received recommendations from consultant, Public Financial Management which urged an end to wind tax credits by 2018, rather than Jan. 1, 2021 as the state originally intended.
The recommendation is part of the state’s review of tax credits to various industries. They total nearly $1 billion and legislators, faced with budget shortfalls want some of the credits either brought to an abrupt end or trimmed.
Wind power receives the most credits and according to the consultant’s report had a financial impact in the state of $113,236,509 as of 2014. The State Tax Commission indicated credits claimed for that tax year were $458.7 million.
“While the credit will be closed to new recipients in 2021, the additional possible eligible facilities, and the 10 years of credits for each, create a significant threat to the state budget,” said the report.
Critics of the credits for the wind industry are supportive of the move.
“Industrial Wind can no longer hide behind expert opinions regarding its value to the state bought and paid for by its various trade groups and lobbyists,” said Rick Mosier of WindWaste. “The report shines a bright light on what little Oklahoma has received for the hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money spent.”
But Jeff Clark of the Wind Coalition had a different view.
“Terrible,” is how he described the report. “This report talks about the cost, but it doesn’t take any consideration of the benefit.”