Schumer Pushes for Alcoa, U.S. Aluminum Manufacturers to Get Clearer Details on New Tax Credit

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Sen. Charles E. Schumer is asking federal officials to finish drafting the rules of a manufacturing tax credit that he said could boost aluminum operations like Alcoa.

In a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was concerned that the federal government has not yet finished its work putting the Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit into effect, and was not yet clear on if the credit would be extended to U.S. aluminum companies.

The credit was part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress last year.

"Timely regulatory guidance on this and other key tax provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act is critical, so companies can make confident decisions to invest in industrial production, grow jobs and advance clean energy innovations here at home," Schumer wrote.

The senator said he met with Alcoa executives earlier this year and discussed how the tax credit would work for their operations in Massena, and subsequently reached out to Yellen to request that she provide specific guidance for aluminum manufacturers in regards to the tax credit.

"The intent of including aluminum in the tax credit was to bring aluminum production home and bolster domestic aluminum smelters, which is why it is imperative that aluminum manufacturers are able to effectively utilize the AMPTC," Schumer said in a statement shared with the Watertown Daily Times on Monday.

He said the Massena Alcoa plant is the longest-operating aluminum smelter in the world, and is the "greenest" smelter in the U.S. because it uses hydropower, producing 130,000 metric tons of aluminum annually.

"I am hopeful that the Treasury can, through timely and clear guidance, provide our domestic aluminum manufacturers confidence they can use this credit to strengthen U.S. production," he wrote to Yellen.

 Courtesy: www.finance.yahoo.com