US Treasury chief says eliminating tax incentives would be 'historic mistake'

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said ending the tax incentives provided under the President Joe Biden administration would be a "historic mistake."

"Rolling them back could raise costs for working families at a moment when it’s imperative that we continue to take action to lower prices," she said Thursday during her speech in Raleigh, North Carolina.

"It could jeopardize the significant investments in manufacturing we’re seeing here and across the country, along with the jobs that come with them, many of which don’t require a college degree," she added. "And it could give a leg-up to China and other countries that are also investing to compete in these critical industries."

The Treasury chief said Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was signed into law in August 2022, allows tax-exempt entities like colleges and universities to benefit directly from the IRA’s clean energy tax credits.

"The IRA was designed to help families shrink and stabilize their energy bills right away and to serve them in the years to come," she said.

Yellen noted that 3.4 million American families have claimed $8.4 billion in residential clean energy and home energy efficiency tax credits so far for tax year 2023.

Families claiming energy tax credits have claimed an average of $5,000, as credits for residential clean energy went toward solutions like solar panels and battery storage, she noted.

She added that American consumers have saved $1.5 billion in upfront costs across purchases of more than 250,000 clean vehicles, which will allow them to reduce their spending on gasoline.