Lawmakers introduced the Solid American Hardwood Tax Credit Act that would allow individual taxpayers to include solid American-manufactured hardwood products, such as flooring and paneling, as qualified home energy efficiency improvements under the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit.
U.S. Representatives Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Terri Sewell (D-AL) propose that recognizing hardwood materials as eligible for this credit will offer environmental and economic benefits to the U.S.
If the bill passes, it would allow homeowners to receive a tax credit for adding solid American hardwood flooring or paneling to their primary residence.
The legislation is anticipated to combat imported substitutes and encourage consumers to choose American-grown hardwoods.
"Without active management, responsible harvesting, and robust markets, the health of our hardwood forests—and the industries and communities that depend on them—are at serious risk.” Executive Director of the National Hardwood Lumber Association Dallin Brooks said in a statement. “Providing consumers with a tax credit to purchase real, American-grown, American-manufactured solid hardwood products over cheap, imported substitutes will save thousands of American jobs and small businesses in rural America.”
The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means, where it may be put to a vote. If the bill passes the committee, it will go to the House floor.
