{"id":2477990,"date":"2025-08-23T16:08:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T20:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/op-ed-the-big-beautiful-bills-carbon-capture-tax-credit-is-a-corporate-giveaway\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T16:11:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T20:11:31","slug":"op-ed-the-big-beautiful-bills-carbon-capture-tax-credit-is-a-corporate-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/op-ed-the-big-beautiful-bills-carbon-capture-tax-credit-is-a-corporate-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Op-Ed: The Big Beautiful Bill&#8217;s Carbon Capture Tax Credit Is a Corporate Giveaway"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fop-ed-the-big-beautiful-bills-carbon-capture-tax-credit-is-a-corporate-giveaway%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2477990&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The summary:<\/p>\n<p>On July 4, President Trump signed the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation bill, nicknamed the &#8220;Big Gorgeous Bill,&#8221; which included significant expansions to the carbon capture and storage (CCS) tax credit known as Section 45Q.While some energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act were allowed to expire, the bill greatly increased subsidies for CCS, especially boosting payments for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rsc-biden-budget-mentions-climate-31-more-times-than-border-security-inflation\/\" title=\"RSC: Biden Budget Mentions Climate 31 More Times than Border Security, Inflation\">enhanced oil recovery<\/a> (injecting carbon dioxide into oil wells to extract more oil) to $180 per ton.This expansion promises billions more in taxpayer-funded subsidies over the next decade.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue CCS is already heavily subsidized with little proven climate benefit, lacking transparency and accountability. Past projects funded by federal dollars have often failed or been canceled due to poor economic returns. The new bill further encourages fossil fuel companies to profit from CCS through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-democrats-pass-colossal-big-labor-giveaway-forcing-taxpayers-to-subsidize-union-activism\/\" title=\"California Democrats Pass Colossal Big Labor Giveaway Forcing ... To Subsidize Union Activism\">generous tax credits<\/a> and loopholes that allow them to avoid corporate taxes. Opponents contend this amounts to corporate welfare at taxpayers&#8217; expense and criticizes the absence of safeguards to ensure real emissions reductions or proper carbon storage. the law increases costly subsidies for an unproven industry with questionable environmental impact, perhaps benefiting oil and gas companies more than the public or the climate.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>On July 4, President Donald Trump signed into law the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation bill &#038;mdash<\/a>; the so-called &ldquo;Big Beautiful Bill&rdquo; &mdash; and with it came a fireworks display of handouts.<\/p>\n<p>While lawmakers moved to sunset many of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-senate-gop-tax-plan-differs-from-the-house-bill\/\" title=\"How the Senate GOP tax plan differs from the House bill\">energy tax credits created<\/a> under the Inflation Reduction Act, they simultaneously expanded one of the costliest and least effective federal subsidies: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/op-ed-climate-alarmists-wind-solar-ev-idolatry-idiotic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">carbon<\/a> capture and storage, or CCS, tax credit known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/IF11455\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Section 45Q<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>CCS is already one of the most heavily subsidized &ldquo;climate&rdquo; technologies on the books. Expanding it makes a bad problem worse. Right now, it&rsquo;s nearly impossible to verify how much carbon is actually captured and stored under 45Q, whether it stays underground, and &mdash; most importantly &mdash; whether it has any impact on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/op-ed-tv-weather-heat-index-become-climate-propaganda-tool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">climate change<\/a>. At the very least, taxpayers deserve to know what they&rsquo;re paying for and whether they&rsquo;re getting their money&rsquo;s worth.<\/p>\n<p>Section 45Q already offered generous subsidies to power plants and industrial facilities for capturing carbon dioxide they emit and either storing it underground or using it in industrial applications. The Biden-era <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/inflation-reduction-act-of-2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Inflation Reduction Act<\/a> raised the maximum payout, lowered the capture threshold, and extended the credit through 2032. That was just the warm-up!<\/p>\n<p>The &ldquo;Big Beautiful Bill&rdquo; takes it a step further by dramatically increasing the payout for enhanced oil recovery &mdash; the process of injecting carbon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/op-ed-tv-weather-heat-index-become-climate-propaganda-tool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dioxide<\/a> into depleted oil wells to produce more oil &mdash; to $180 per ton, the same rate paid for permanent geological storage.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Oil, gas, and ethanol companies had already launched a slew of projects to take advantage of generous Biden-era subsidies. Now, under the &ldquo;Big Beautiful Bill&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taxpayer.net\/energy-natural-resources\/one-big-not-so-beautiful-boost-for-carbon-capture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">expansion<\/a>, they are slated to reap even more taxpayer dollars. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates this expansion alone will cost taxpayers an additional $14 billion over the next decade, on top of 45Q&rsquo;s original price tag of $36 billion.<\/p>\n<p>The true costs are likely much higher because facilities can claim the credit for 12 years if they begin construction before 2033 &mdash; there&rsquo;s no deadline for when they must actually begin operating.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s on top of the billions of taxpayer dollars already poured into CCS with little to show for it. From fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2023, Congress directed at least $2.8 billion to CCS through the Department of Energy&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/fecm\/office-fossil-energy-and-carbon-management\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management<\/a>. Another $12.1 billion is being doled out under the 2021 infrastructure package.<\/p>\n<p>To his credit, the Trump administration has since canceled a chunk of that funding, correctly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/articles\/secretary-wright-announces-termination-24-projects-generating-over-3-billion-taxpayer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">concluding the ventures<\/a> &ldquo;failed to advance the energy needs of the American people, were not economically viable, and would not generate a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Good call. The industry&rsquo;s track record is dismal. Department of Energy-backed projects like FutureGen and Kemper fizzled. More than a decade of federal investment has failed to bring CCS to meaningful scale.<\/p>\n<p>Congress should have followed suit and cut CCS support in the &ldquo;Big Beautiful Bill.&rdquo; The projects the expanded 45Q credit will fund are no more worthy of support than the ones Trump already canceled. Instead, it did the exact opposite.<\/p>\n<p>With the boosted payout for enhanced oil recovery in the &ldquo;Big Beautiful Bill,&rdquo; using captured carbon dioxide to extract more oil is now the most profitable way for the CCS industry to claim 45Q tax credits. Oil and gas companies will continue profiting from the sale of that oil, while also reaping billions from the expanded tax credit.<\/p>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s be clear: the subsidies big oil and gas are reaping for enhanced oil recovery represent nothing more than windfall <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/activists-failed-cnns-data-guru-awe-americas-response-climate-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">profits<\/a> via taxpayers. These companies were already using carbon capture for a profit even without government support. 45Q is corporate welfare &mdash; paid for by middle-class taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p>Worse still, the expanded credit lacks even the most basic guardrails: no emissions or storage benchmarks, no independent verification, no real taxpayer protections. From 2010 to 2019, more than $890 million worth of 45Q credits &mdash; around 90 percent of all claims &mdash; failed to comply with EPA reporting rules. Talk about lack of transparency and waste, fraud, and abuse.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the $180-per-ton payout, the &ldquo;Big Beautiful Bill&rdquo; extends a generous tax shelter to the CCS industry, allowing companies to structure themselves as tax-shielding partnerships &mdash; allowing much of the industry to avoid corporate income taxes entirely.<\/p>\n<p>No <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/supposed-climate-change-crisis-ruin-john-kerrys-posh-neighborhood-drug-addicts-instead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">policy<\/a> this costly, unproven, and ripe for abuse should be continued &mdash; let alone expanded. Lawmakers handed industry a blank check &mdash; and taxpayers will foot the bill.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><i><b>The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either d or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/submitop-ed\/\">here<\/a>.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On July 4, President Donald Trump approved the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation bill, nicknamed the &#8220;Big Beautiful Bill,&#8221; which included a large number of spending measures. Although many energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act were set to expire, lawmakers chose to increase funding for one of the most expensive and least effective federal subsidies: the carbon capture and storage (CCS) tax credit known as Section 45Q. CCS is already heavily subsidized as a climate technology, and expanding it only worsens existing issues. Currently, it is very difficult to verify how much carbon is actually captured and stored under this program, whether it remains underground, or if it truly impacts climate change. Taxpayers deserve transparency about what they are funding and whether their money is being well spent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2477991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-63.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32802,46838,61850,61851,33054],"class_list":["post-2477990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-carbon-capture","tag-climate-policy","tag-corporate-giveaway","tag-environmental-economics","tag-tax-credit"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-63.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2477990"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2477994,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2477990\/revisions\/2477994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2477991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2477990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2477990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2477990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}