A plan to cut state fuel taxes for biodiesel is moving forward in South Dakota’s legislature.
This story from Forbes says the state Senate’s State Affairs Committee voted unanimously to move Governor Mike Rounds’ plan to the full Senate:
The bill would cut the 22-cent-a-gallon tax on diesel to 20 cents for diesel fuel that contains at least a 5 percent blend made from soybeans or other organic material.
The 2-cent-a-gallon tax break would be the same as that given to ethanol, which is a gasoline blend generally made from corn.
The tax break would not start until biodiesel facilities in South Dakota reach a capacity of 20 million gallons a year and produce at least 10 million gallons a year. It would end when production reaches about 20 percent of diesel fuel sold, state Agriculture Secretary Bill Even said.
If passed, the bill would encourage the development of soybean-based biodiesel plants in South Dakota. The state is home to just one small facility now.