Diverse Vermont Business Leaders Unite to
Timothy McQuiston
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2007-04-30T17:24:00Z
2007-05-01T17:44:00Z
2007-05-01T17:44:00Z
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886
5054
William Shouldice & Associates
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10.2625
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Diverse Vermont Business Leaders
Unite to
Propose Alternative
to New Tax on Vermont Yankee
Cite Dangers to
Vermonts Business Environment and Reputation of Sudden Change in Tax Policy
Regarding One Vermont Company
Montpelier,
VT/April 30, 2007 A diverse group of leading Vermont business executives
today proposed an alternative to a new tax on Vermont Yankee as a way to fund
Vermonts proposed new all fuels efficiency utility. The proposal would provide
$5 million in start up funds for the non-electric energy efficiency fund
proposed to be created by legislation pending in the Vermont Senate.
We
commend the legislatures focus on reducing CO2 emissions from non-electric
sources in Vermont. The new entity to be charged
with this task will not be up and running until January 1,
2009,
under pending legislation. Our proposal would provide $5 million by that date
from existing revenue sources without raising taxes, said Lisa Ventriss, President of the Vermont Business Roundtable.
The
groups proposal would use unspent and uncommitted funds from FY 07 and FY 08
revenues that go to Vermonts existing Clean Energy
Development Fund. These funds are generated by existing payments to the State
by Vermont Yankee. It also would tap funds to be received by Vermonts existing efficiency utility
from so-called forward capacity payments, which reflect electric energy being
saved by Efficiency Vermont.
The group
is proposing an alternative to the 35% tax on certain Vermont Yankee gross
revenues that is in the current version of a bill due for action this week in
the Vermont Senate because they believe the new tax on Vermont Yankee will have
a negative impact on Vermonts economy and business
reputation. The group believes the proposed new tax could affect company
relocation and investment decisions, electricity costs and reliability and that
the new tax eventually could lead to an increase in the amount of greenhouse
gas emissions in Vermont.
Members
of the business group had the following specific comments about the proposed
new tax on Vermont Yankee:
John OKane,
Manager of Community Relations and Government Affairs, IBM Microelectronics
IBM must
have reliable, affordable base-load power to operate successfully in Vermont. The tax being proposed has not
been thought through and is likely to threaten the availability of base-load
resources not only from Vermont Yankee but from other potential suppliers who
will view Vermont as an unreliable partner and
customer.
Kellie Morton, Manager of Human
Resources, General Electric Corp.
We have
worked very hard over the years to try and make Vermont a place where we can remain in
business and support our communities. By risking future energy costs and
creating an unpredictable tax environment for businesses, this proposed tax on
Vermont Yankee threatens to seriously undermine this work.
Daniel Kurzman,
General Manager, Northeast Region, Ethan Allen Operations
"Like
many companies employing thousands of Vermonters, our facilities here in Vermont must compete every day not only
with other manufacturers, but with other Ethan Allen facilities in the US and abroad. Creating an
unpredictable tax environment and risking higher energy costs in the years
ahead does nothing to help keep or create high paying jobs in Vermont."
"Ethan Allen understands efficiency and has made great strides to improve
our facilities here. But the bottom line is that Vermont has a very high-cost business
environment. Any new tax-based approach to funding efficiency will only head us
further in the wrong direction."
Christopher Dutton, Chief
Executive Officer, Green Mountain Power
Nothing
is free. If a business has a tax imposed on it, it will collect the costs
associated with that tax, one way or another, sooner or later. My concern is
that a tax on a major power supplier to Vermont will make more difficult the
negotiations that the utilities in Vermont have underway with the power
suppliers that now provide us with relatively carbon-free electricity under
long-term contracts. Its not just Entergy that will be troubled by such a tax.
All power suppliers, including Hydro-Quebec, will wonder if and when such a tax
is coming their way. Eventually, this kind of tax will have the effect of
diminishing the economic value of what we are able to secure in those
negotiations for our customers.
Brian Keefe, Vice President of
Government Affairs, Central Vermont Public Service
Since
2002, Vermont ratepayers have saved more than $160 million because
Entergy agreed to fixed, long-term contracts when it bought Vermont Yankee. Vermont
Yankee also enables Vermont to get one third of its power
with practically zero greenhouse gas emissions and is a major reason why Vermont has the lowest per capita CO2
emissions rate of any state in America.
A
suddenly imposed new tax on one business, especially if it does as much as
Vermont Yankee does for Vermont, is a threat to all Vermont businesses and the tens of
thousands of Vermonters they employ.
CVPS
takes very seriously our responsibility to provide our customers with reliable
electric power at the lowest possible prices. Vermont Yankee is currently a
very important source of reliable, affordable power for Vermont. Any action by the legislature
that creates uncertainty about future power costs is quite destabilizing.
Lisa Ventriss,
President, Vermont Business Roundtable
We
already know that nuclear energy is clean, reliable, and inexpensive; it
represents one-third of our electricity supply The most aggressive renewable
energy portfolio cannot approach replacing this base-load power. Nuclear energy
is one of the reasons we are the lowest carbon-emitting state in the union. It
is the backbone of our portfolio. To levy a new tax on that one corporation,
Entergy, in effect showing them the door, is the wrong message for Vermont to be sending if we care about
Global Warming.