本文转自《BOB Menendez for new jersey》发表的题为“Menendez Demands Trump Admin Clean up Dirty Little Secret: Tax Giveaways to Polluters Cheating the System”的报道。

日期：2019.04.25

原文链接：https://www.menendez.senate.gov/news-and-events/press/menendez-demands-trump-admin-clean-up-dirty-little-secret-tax-giveaways-to-polluters-cheating-the-system?from=groupmessage&isappinstalled=0

Corporate polluters profited from hundreds of millions in tax credits to capture, store dangerous emissions – without records to prove they did it.

污染排放企业从捕集、封存危险排放物中获利数以亿计的税收抵免，没有记录证明他们这样做了。

Clean Water Action Report exposed oversight and compliance failures

《清洁水行动报告》暴露了监督和合规方面的失误

NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez called for IRS Commissioner Rettig to immediately investigate and hold accountable polluting industries and corporations that are falsely claiming hundreds of millions of dollars in federal tax credits for employing technology to capture, store and prevent carbon emissions, while ignoring requirements to prove they have actually done so. 

NEWARK, N.J. - 美国参议员Bob Menendez呼吁美国国税局专员Rettig 立即调查并追究污染行业和公司，这些行业和公司错误地声称拥有数亿美元的联邦税收抵免，用于采用捕获，储存技术来防止碳排放，而不要求证明他们实际上已经这样做了。

In a letter to Commissioner Rettig, Sen. Menendez pointed to disturbing public IRS and EPA documentation which shows that, while fossil fuel industries have received federal tax credits for the safe storage of nearly 60 million metric tons of carbon, less than 6 million metric tons have been verified as safely secured—“a tenth of the sequestered carbon for which tax credits have been issued[5].”

在致Rettig专员的一封信中，参议员Menendez指出令人不安的公共IRS和EPA文件显示，化石燃料行业已获得安全储存近6000万公吨碳的联邦税收抵免，不到600万公吨 已经被证实是安全可靠的 - “已经签发税收抵免的碳的十分之一。”

“It appears that following the issuance of the EPA regulations, a significant amount of tax credits were improperly claimed by filers who failed to comply with the clear standards of the law,” the Senator wrote.  “Without evidence of permanent, secure geologic storage of captured carbon, the 45Q tax credit will be reduced to nothing but another wasteful tax giveaway to the fossil fuel industry—an unacceptable outcome for the American taxpayers.”

参议员写道：“看来，在颁布EPA规定后，大量的税收抵免被不遵守法律明确标准的申报人不当地主张。” “如果没有永久，安全地捕获碳的地质储存证据，45Q的税收抵免将被削减为化石燃料行业的另一个浪费的税收优惠 - 这对美国纳税人来说是不可接受的结果。”

The full letter is below and here.

完整的信如下：

Dear Commissioner Rettig:

亲爱的Retring专员：

I write today in order to raise a number of concerns about the implementation of the tax credit for carbon oxide sequestration (45Q tax credit).  Congress intended this tax credit to support permanent, secure geologic storage of carbon oxides that would aid in efforts to reduce the effects of climate change.  Publicly available data suggests that the vast majority of the 45Q tax credits claimed have come absent the required monitoring, reporting, and verification system that ensures the safe disposal of captured carbon, in clear contravention of current law and guidance.

我今天写的是为了提出一些关于实施CO2封存税收抵免（45Q税收抵免）的担忧。国会希望这种税收抵免能够支持永久，安全的CO2地质储存，这将有助于减少气候变化的影响。公开数据表明，所声称的45Q税收抵免中，绝大多数都缺乏必要的监测、报告和核查系统，以确保安全处置所捕获的碳，这明显违反现行法律和指南。

In interim guidance issued through Notice 2009-83 in 2009, the IRS stated “In order to qualify for the § 45Q credit, a taxpayer must either physically or contractually dispose of captured CO2 in secure geological storage using adequate security measures as provided by the Secretary in regulations.”[1]  That notice established interim procedures to demonstrate secure geologic storage while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) worked to issue a final set of standards.

在2009年通过2009-83号通知发布的临时指南中，美国国税局表示“为了有资格获得§45Q信贷，纳税人必须使用《条例》中规定的适当安全措施，在安全的地质储存中以预定方式处置捕获的二氧化碳。当环境保护局（EPA）努力发布最终标准时，该通知建立了临时程序以证明安全的地质储存。

EPA’s standards were ultimately finalized in December of 2010, through the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirement under Subpart RR, Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide[2].  The application of these requirements to claimants of the 45Q tax credit were further emphasized when the IRS published its December 2013 Oil and Gas Handbook.  The handbook includes the following references:

EPA的标准最终于2010年12月完成，通过RR子部分下的温室气体报告要求，即二氧化碳的地质封存。 当美国国税局公布其2013年12月的“石油和天然气手册”时，进一步强调这些要求适用于45Q税收抵免的申请人。 该手册包括以下参考：

1）“IRC 45Q and Notice 2009-83 state that a taxpayer claiming the credit must comply with evolving rules of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the sequestration of CO2 and reporting of CO2 volumes measured at the source of capture and verified at the point of disposal or injection.”

“IRC 45Q和2009-83号通知声明，信用证的纳税人必须遵守美国环境保护署（EPA）关于二氧化碳封存的规定和在捕获源测量的二氧化碳量，并在验证改点的CO2处理和注入。“

2）“EPA promulgated final rules regarding the reporting of both CO2 emissions and CO2 use (including sequestration) for years after 2010. Subpart RR – Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide is applicable to the IRC 45Q credit.”

“EPA颁布了关于2010年后二氧化碳排放和二氧化碳使用（包括封存）报告的最终规则。第RR部分  - 二氧化碳地质封存适用于IRC 45Q信用额度。”

3）“The Preamble to EPA’s final rule states in plain language that, under the final rule, operators of facilities that are sequestering CO2 in geologic storage must comply with Subpart RR regardless of whether the CO2 is currently used as a tertiary injectant in an EOR project. EPA’s preamble also states that taxpayers claiming the 45Q tax credit after 2010 must follow Subpart RR’s “MRV procedures” MRV stands for Monitor, Report and Verify. The MRV procedures require the operator to submit an MRV plan to the EPA for its approval, and to annually report CO2 volumes, including amounts sequestered, pursuant to the plan. Examiners should obtain a copy of these documents.”

“美国环保署最终规则的序言以明确的语言表明，根据最终规则，在地质封存中封存二氧化碳的设施的运营商必须遵守分部RR，无论二氧化碳目前是否在EOR中用作三级注入剂。 美国环保署的序言还指出，纳税人在2010年之后申请45Q税收抵免必须遵循子部分RR的“MRV程序”，MRV代表监控，报告和验证。 MRV程序要求运营商向EPA提交MRV计划以供其批准，并根据计划每年报告二氧化碳量，包括隔离的数量。 审查员应该获得这些文件的副本。“

4）“Tax credits claimed by the taxpayer in years after 2010 should be reconciled with annual volumes reported by the operator of the facility to the EPA under its subpart RR rules.”

“纳税人在2010年之后申报的税收抵免应与该设施的运营商根据其子部分RR规则向EPA报告的年度数量进行核对。”

Both the EPA and the IRS have made it abundantly clear that eligibility for the 45Q tax credit is contingent upon compliance with EPA’s requirements under Subpart RR, including the creation of an MRV regime designed to ensure that carbon is sequestered securely.

美国环保署和美国国税局都非常清楚地表明，45Q税收抵免的资格取决于是否符合美国环保署在“分部RR”下的要求，包括建立旨在确保碳安全封存的MRV制度。

Yet based on a review of publicly available information, it appears that millions of dollars of tax credits have been claimed by companies that are not complying with EPA’s MRV standards.  According to IRS Bulletin 2018-20, issued in May of 2018, “Based on the most recent annual reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service, the aggregate amount of qualified carbon dioxide taken into account for purposes of § 45Q is 59,767,924 metric tons.”[4]

然而，根据对公开信息的审查，似乎有数百万美元的税收抵免已被不符合EPA MRV标准的公司声称。根据2018年5月发布的IRS 2018-20号公报，“根据向美国国税局提交的最新年度报告，为第45Q条考虑的合格二氧化碳总量为59,767,924公吨。” 

Given that claimants of the 45Q tax credit are subject to EPA’s MRV procedures, EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting database should reflect at least 59.7 million metric tons of carbon that have been permanently stored.  Yet according to EPA’s Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool (FLIGHT), just 5,958,385 metric tons of carbon have been sequestered in accordance with EPA’s standard—a tenth of the sequestered carbon for which tax credits have been issued[5]. The earliest entry into this database is from 2016, five years after the EPA MRV process was established.

鉴于45Q税收抵免的索赔人必须遵守EPA的MRV程序，EPA的温室气体报告数据库应该反映至少5970万吨已经永久储存的碳。然而，根据美国环保署关于温室气体工具的设施水平信息（FLIGHT），根据美国环保署的标准，已经扣除了5,958,385公吨的碳 - 已经签发税收抵免的十分之一的碳。最早进入该数据库的时间是2016年，即EPA MRV流程建立五年后。

It appears that following the issuance of the EPA regulations, a significant amount of tax credits were improperly claimed by filers who failed to comply with the clear standards of the law.  Without evidence of permanent, secure geologic storage of captured carbon, the 45Q tax credit will be reduced to nothing but another wasteful tax giveaway to the fossil fuel industry—an unacceptable outcome for the American taxpayers.  Fraudulent claims on these credits has the potential to seriously undermine both public confidence in the potential of carbon capture technology, and the efforts of those that are acting in compliance with the IRS and EPA’s requirements.

看来，在环境保护署的条例颁布之后，许多没有遵守明确的法律标准的申报者不正当地申报了大量的税收抵免。 如果没有证据表明捕获的碳在地质上有永久、安全的储存，45Q税收抵免将被削减为对化石燃料行业的又一项浪费税收优惠——这对美国纳税人来说是无法接受的结果。 对这些信贷的欺诈性索赔有可能严重破坏公众对碳捕获技术潜力的信心，以及那些符合美国国税局和美国环保署要求的人的努力。

Given this, I request that the IRS undertake an investigation into the discrepancies between the amount of 45Q tax credits that have been claimed, and the amount of sequestered carbon reported to the EPA.  Specifically, please provide answers to the following questions:

鉴于此，我要求美国国税局对所声称的45Q税收抵免金额与向EPA报告的碳封存量之间的差异进行调查。 具体而言，请提供以下问题的答案：

1)      What is the reason for the discrepancy between the amount of sequestered carbon cited by claimants of the 45Q tax credit versus the amount of sequestered carbon reported to the EPA under Subpart RR?

45Q税收抵免的索赔人引用的封存碳量与根据“分部RR”向EPA报告的封存碳量之间的差异是什么原因？

2)      What is the value of 45Q tax credits claimed for sequestered carbon that was not in compliance with the EPA’s Subpart RR monitoring, reporting, and verification requirements?

对于不符合EPA的子部分RR监测，报告和验证要求的封存碳征收的45Q税收抵免的价值是多少？

3)      What enforcement actions will the IRS take to ensure that in the future, all claimants of the 45Q tax credit are complying with the required monitoring, reporting, and verification requirements?

美国国税局将采取哪些执法行动来确保将来所有45Q税收抵免的索赔人都遵守所要求的监控，报告和验证要求？

4)      What actions will the IRS take against previous claimants of the 45Q tax credit that have not complied with the required EPA monitoring, reporting, and verification requirements?

美国国税局对45Q税收抵免的先前申请人采取了哪些行动，这些申诉人未遵守所要求的EPA监督，报告和验证要求？

I urge you to closely examine these discrepancies, and to ensure that the 45Q tax credit is only provided to taxpayers that adhere to existing requirements and ensure permanent, secure storage of all sequestered carbon.  As the IRS works to update its guidance for the 45Q tax credit, I further urge you to maintain the existing monitoring, reporting, and verification requirements in place today and to reject proposals to weaken this mechanism—including proposals to do so retroactively.  Without these compliance measures, there can be no assurances that the 45Q tax credit is actually preventing carbon from being released into our atmosphere.

我建议您仔细检查这些差异，并确保仅向符合现有要求的纳税人提供45Q税收抵免，并确保永久，安全地储存所有封存碳。 随着美国国税局努力更新其对45Q税收抵免的指导，我进一步敦促您保持现有的监测，报告和验证要求，并拒绝削弱该机制的建议 - 包括追溯性的建议。 如果没有这些合规措施，就不能保证45Q税收抵免实际上是在阻止碳排放到我们的大气中。

Thank you for your prompt attention to this critical matter.

感谢您及时关注这一关键问题。

Sincerely,