Lighting Commentary: Unfinished Regulations

 

The Commercial Buildings Deduction has been greeted with excitement about its potential coupled with uncertainty stemming from the fact that while the basic accelerated tax deduction is defined and established by law, some of the regulations implementing it have not been created as of January 1, 2007.

These regulations, to be issued by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury in consultation with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, cover:

1. Infrastructure—tax forms, etc. for tax professionals so that there is a process by which the tax deduction can be claimed at tax time.
2. Public buildings—how the lighting system’s designer can claim the tax deduction in place of the owner in the case of publicly owned buildings.
3. Systems in addition to those in ASHRAE 90.1, such as daylighting, onsite generation, and efficient building wiring.

Regardless, however, the Commercial Buildings Deduction is now law even without the final regulations, and building owners and lighting practitioners can both benefit from educating themselves about how it can impact their business.

 

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