Skip navigation.
Home
  Hawaii Political Info
   Candidate & issue information
Home

SolarCity Milks Tax Subsidies on Oahu and Big Island

Submitted by Guest on Tue, 06/17/2014 - 16:24

Solar panel consumers left without tax credits meant for them

Hawaii Reporter

By Jason Stverak

June 13, 2014

There’s a rising player in the Hawai’i energy market, promising inexpensive, green solar energy for homes and businesses, but there’s far more to SolarCity than meets the eye. The California-based solar panel provider, which has been in Oahu for three years and expanded to the Big Island this month, collects for itself tax subsidies intended for its consumers, who are left vulnerable to sudden spikes in their electricity bills.

SolarCity is one of many solar firms that relies almost entirely on government handouts and credits to generate profit--exploiting loopholes to pocket federal tax breaks intended for homeowners who install solar panels. Though not technically illegal, companies that employ business models of this nature engage in the worst type of cronyism, simultaneously pocketing taxpayer money while leaving their customers with needlessly high energy bills.

The Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), a longstanding federal program that was expanded in 2008, allows homeowners who install solar panels to write off 30 percent of the costs, in an effort to encourage Americans to go green. While far from the best use of our tax dollars, this program is at least defensible as one of many writeoffs used to promote certain behaviors--presuming that the tax credit actually goes to the homeowner, who pays for and gets electricity from the panels.

Read more . . .

»