Tax Professionals Unfamiliar With US Clean Energy Incentives, Survey Finds

To: BUSINESS, ENERGY AND NATIONAL EDITORS

Two thirds of accountants, tax lawyers surveyed by Bloomberg BNA say they are unaware how clean energy tax credits work

NEW YORK and ARLINGTON, Va., March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tax professionals are generally unfamiliar with the various tax incentives available to private investors in clean energy projects, despite the fact that many have participated in other kinds of "tax equity" transactions, according to a survey conducted by Bloomberg BNA in consultation with Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

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The online survey of subscribers to Bloomberg BNA's Tax and Accounting Center, found that 35% of respondents have made tax equity investment either directly or on behalf of clients in areas other than clean energy, such as low-income housing. Despite this, 65% said they were mostly or completely unfamiliar with the incentives available to backers of US wind projects known as the Production Tax Credit. Only 7% described themselves as extremely familiar with the PTC, which was used to finance approximately 4,000 megawatts of wind capacity in 2011, or around 70% of total US wind installations, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates.

The survey comes as the US clean energy sector seeks to grow by attracting new private investment from corporations in the form of tax equity. Bloomberg New Energy Finance presents the results of the survey today at a White House meeting hosted by the US Department of Energy. The event brings together chief financial officers and others from Fortune 500 companies as the administration highlights opportunities available to large corporations in clean energy tax equity investing.

When asked why they or their clients had not made a clean energy tax equity investment, a majority answered that it was either not a strategic fit with the company's business or that they believed there were better returns available elsewhere. Twenty-one percent of those answering the question responded that they did not make the investment because they were unaware of a tax equity option. Nearly all of the respondents indicated that a clean energy investment would be for the purpose of supplying the client's own energy needs.

"These results suggest an information disconnect," said Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the clean energy market research division of Bloomberg. "Tax equity investing today offers backers of clean energy projects, based on proven technologies, comparatively high risk-adjusted returns, given the current low interest-rate environment. Apparently though, many in the tax community have failed so far to spot the opportunity for their clients."

Detailed results are available on Bloomberg BNA's Daily Tax Report. For more information, visit www.bna.com.

ABOUT BLOOMBERG BNA

Bloomberg BNA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bloomberg, is a leading source of legal, regulatory, and business information for professionals. Its network of more than 2,500 reporters, correspondents, and leading practitioners delivers expert analysis, news, practice tools, and guidance -- the information that matters most to professionals. Bloomberg BNA's authoritative coverage spans the full range of legal practice areas, including tax & accounting, labor & employment, intellectual property, banking & securities, employee benefits, health care, privacy & data security, human resources, and environment, health & safety.

ABOUT BLOOMBERG NEW ENERGY FINANCE

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) is the world's leading independent provider of news, data, research and analysis to decision makers in renewable energy, water, energy smart technologies, carbon markets, carbon capture and storage, and nuclear power. Bloomberg New Energy Finance has staff of 200, based in London, Washington D.C., New York, Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Cape Town, Sao Paulo and Zurich. Bloomberg New Energy Finance serves leading investors, corporates and governments around the world. Its Insight Services provide deep market analysis on wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal, carbon capture and storage, smart grid, energy efficiency, and nuclear power. The group also offers Insight Services for each of the major emerging carbon markets: European, Global Kyoto, Australia, and the U.S., where it covers the planned regional markets as well as potential federal initiatives and the voluntary carbon market. Bloomberg New Energy Finance's Industry Intelligence Service provides access to the world's most reliable and comprehensive database of investors and investments in clean energy and carbon. The News and Briefing Service is the leading global news service focusing on clean energy investment. The group also undertakes applied research on behalf of clients and runs senior level networking events. For more information on Bloomberg New Energy Finance: http://www.bnef.com.

ABOUT BLOOMBERG

Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company's strength--delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately--is at the core of the Bloomberg Professional service, which provides real time financial information to more than 300,000 subscribers globally. Bloomberg's enterprise solutions build on the company's core strength, leveraging technology to allow customers to access, integrate, distribute and manage data and information across organizations more efficiently and effectively. Through Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the company provides data, news and analytics to decision makers in industries beyond finance. And Bloomberg News, delivered through the Bloomberg Professional service, television, radio, mobile, the Internet and two magazines, Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg Markets, covers the world with more than 2,300 news and multimedia professionals at 146 bureaus in 72 countries. Headquartered in New York, Bloomberg employs more than 13,000 people in 185 locations around the world.

SOURCE Bloomberg BNA

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tax-professionals-unfamiliar-us-clean-energy-incentives-survey-182803970.html

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