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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATIONAL CORN GROWERS ASSOCIATION
CONTACTS:
Mimi Ricketts, NCGA, 636-733-9004
Rhondalee Dean-Royce, NCGA, 202-628-7001
October 22,
2004
NCGA Applauds President Bush for Signing Corporate Tax Bill
ST. LOUIS (October 22, 2004) -- The National Corn Growers Association
(NCGA) today commended President George W. Bush for signing into law
the American JOBS Creation Act of 2004, also known as the corporate
tax bill. The legislation supports expansion of the ethanol industry,
promotes job growth and benefits rural communities. The president signed
the bill this morning aboard Air Force One.
“We thank President Bush for signing this important piece of
legislation into law,” said Leon Corzine, NCGA president and
Illinois corn grower. “He kept his promise to corn growers by
continuing to support expansion of the ethanol industry and the use
of renewable fuels. Communities across the United States -- not just
in rural areas -- will benefits from this bill.”
The corporate tax bill includes both the Volumetric Ethanol Excise
Tax Credit (VEETC) provision and biodiesel tax incentives. The VEETC
provision will extend to 2010 an existing tax incentive for using ethanol-blended
gasoline, and will re-direct funds generated by an excise tax on ethanol
to the highway trust fund (HTF). The biodiesel incentive provision
creates a new tax credit of $1 per gallon for agri-biodiesel, and 50
cents per gallon for biodiesel (recycled oil). Some elements of the
small ethanol producer tax credit provision are also included in the
bill. Specifically, the bill allows the tax credit to be passed through
to the farmer owners of a cooperative, and allows the tax credit to
be offset against the alternative minimum tax.
“We appreciate the efforts by Congress to get this important
piece of legislation passed and to the president’s desk,” Corzine
said. “This legislation is a major victory for corn growers,
the U.S. agriculture sector and all American consumers. President Bush
understands the importance of agriculture to the economic growth of
this country, and he recognizes that ethanol will continue to play
an important role in the future of agriculture.”
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The National Corn Growers Association mission is to create and increase
opportunities for corn growers. NCGA represents nearly 33,000 members,
26 affiliated state corn grower organizations and hundreds of thousands
of growers who contribute to state checkoff programs.
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