...U.S. Ag secretary in Springfield, talks ethanol tax breaks.

SJ-R.com
By TIM LANDIS (tim.landis@sj-r.com)
The State Journal-Register, Springfield, IL
Posted Nov 02, 2011 @ 11:00 PM
Last update Nov 03, 2011 @ 06:37 AM

A federal tax break for ethanol blenders estimated to be worth $5.7 billion this year likely will be allowed to expire at the end of 2011, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Wednesday.

During a stop near the Scheels sporting-goods store in Springfield to promote President Obama’s job creation program, Vilsack said he does not expect a “blenders credit” for ethanol to be renewed at the end of the year.

The tax break for refiners who blend ethanol with gasoline was included in a federal job-creation bill in 2004.

Vilsack said, while he expects the blender credit expire, biofuels from farm products will continue to play a vital role in alternative fuels.

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