Word: fuel
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Forget that it looks like coal. And will burn like coal. It's now called "synthetic fuel." As such, the coal-like product, along with roughly 50 million tons of similar stuff from more than 50 similar plants in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Alabama and other states, is worth more than $1 billion a year in federal income-tax credits, a corporate giveaway protected by a bipartisan group of supporters in Congress. Those who have profited from the system range from fast-buck artists to giant corporations. They include one of the nation's largest hotel operators, a commodities trader barred...
...most stunning numbers have been posted by big companies that wanted to boost their bottom line. The hotel chain Marriott International Inc., which has 2,500 lodging properties worldwide, bought four synfuel plants in October 2001. The next year, the first full year of production, Marriott's new synthetic-fuel operations generated $159 million in tax credits. Marriott had paid $46 million in cash for the facilities, meaning the tax credits gave the company a return of 246% on its investment in just one year. It was a welcome boost for the company at a time when the average room...
...Stores Corp., with headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, is a chain of some 250 retail electronics and appliance stores in 37 states--and two synthetic-fuel facilities. While sales of the company's main products have declined, its synthetic-fuel sideline has thrived. Stuart Rose, Rex's CEO, told stock analysts in June that "it's an asset that's still returning unbelievable returns for our investment." Echoed Douglas Bruggeman, Rex's vice president for finance: "We feel real good about that whole part of our business right...
Electric utilities that have a stake in synthetic-fuel plants and burn their own product have achieved stunning financial results. Through 2002, Progress Energy Inc., a holding company for public utilities that generate electricity in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, raked in $897 million in tax credits from the program. SCANA Corp., the holding company for South Carolina Electric & Gas, reported that it received $58 million in tax credits from an investment of "approximately $2 million" in synthetic-fuel partnerships. That works out to a return of 2,800%. Think of the numbers this way: if you invested...
SEMPRA Energy, the holding company for San Diego Gas & Electric, chalked up a comparatively low tax rate of 17% in the first quarter of this year. After questioning by a UBS Warburg analyst, the company acknowledged that the reduced taxes were attributable to synthetic-fuel tax credits of $45 million to $50 million...