US senators put forward waterway LNG parity act

U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy and Michael Bennet introduced the Waterway LNG Parity Act of 2015, the legislation that could provide equal treatment for LNG within the federal tax code.

Under this bipartisan legislation, excise taxes on liquefied natural gas for marine transportation on the inland waterways would be levied at a rate consistent with their energy output relative to diesel and gasoline, respectively.

In a recent joint statement, senators said they believe the current financing mechanism for the inland waterways system puts the use of LNG at a disadvantage.

“It takes about 1.7 gallons of LNG to provide the same amount of energy as a gallon of diesel. Those who use LNG to power marine vessels would have to pay 50 cents in tax for the same amount of energy contained in a gallon of diesel fuel that is only taxed at 29 cents,” said Cassidy.

He added that equal tax treatment for LNG would advance its use and production.

According to the statement, the legislation received great support from industry officials claiming the bill would create additional demand for natural gas benefiting producers.

LNG World News Staff