Accounting

America’s hydrogen-fueled future stalls over tax credits

Published

8 months ago

August 15, 2024

Inside Plug Power's Liquid Green Hydrogen Plant In Georgia — Hydrogen is loaded into a truck at the Plug Power Inc. liquid green hydrogen plant in Woodbine, Georgia.

Two years after President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law promised to kick-start green hydrogen production with generous tax credits, companies still don’t know who will qualify.

Billions of dollars in investments sit on the sidelines as a result.

The Biden administration sees green hydrogen as a critical component of the energy transition, a way to clean up heavy industries that can’t easily run on electricity. But the nascent hydrogen economy has been paralyzed waiting for final rules on a key tax credit, which will provide up to $3 for every kilogram of the fuel produced.

Hydrogen companies considered the initial guidelines issued by the Treasury Department late last year too strict and warned that many of their planned plants wouldn’t qualify for the full incentive. Developers have since been left in limbo as they await adjustments before the final rules are approved.

Hy Stor Energy, for example, plans to produce hydrogen in Mississippi using on-site wind and geothermal energy and be operational in 2027.

“Our project has multiple gigawatts of renewables and is holding off billions of dollars in investment,” said chief commercial officer Claire Behar. “That is just one project. If you multiply it by 10 to 20 projects, it’s a massive investment that’s being stalled.”

The delay isn’t simply a case of slow-moving bureaucracy. Industry and environmentalists have engaged in a months-long lobbying fight over the rules, with the federal government trying to strike a balance. But the lack of progress could impede the nation’s decarbonization efforts.

“People in the industry are very frustrated,” said Frank Wolak, chief executive officer of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association. “The longer people defer investments, the less committed they are.”

Almost all hydrogen produced today is stripped from natural gas in a process that gives off carbon dioxide. But there are cleaner ways to make the fuel, such as capturing the CO2 or splitting the hydrogen from water using renewable electricity. Those cleaner methods are the focus of the Inflation Reduction Act tax credit. The size of the credit available to each project rests on three so-called pillars: ensuring hydrogen is produced using new clean energy sources rather than existing ones, aligning hydrogen production with electricity generation times and adhering to stringent carbon intensity requirements.

Without strict rules on each, environmentalists argue, hydrogen production plants risk driving up greenhouse gas emissions rather than cutting them.

“The first draft in December was an excellent framework that will attract the truly green projects,” said Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund. “Whatever happens, it’s critical that Treasury uphold this framework and not add exemptions that would water down the emissions integrity.”

Companies counter they need looser rules, at least at first, to get the industry off the ground.

In addition to the tax credits, the federal government has set aside $8 billion to create a series of hydrogen hubs that would match producers of the fuel with customers using it. But leaders of the regional hubs are so worried about the current tax credit guidance that they sent the Treasury Department a letter in February arguing many of their own projects won’t happen unless the rules are changed. The hubs, they said, are expected to generate $40 billion in private investment and support 334,280 jobs.

“Unfortunately, these investments and jobs will not fully materialize unless Treasury’s guidance is significantly revised,” they wrote.

The Treasury Department says it is carefully considering all the many comments it has received as it drafts the final rules, but officials haven’t given any timeline for finishing the work. “Finalizing rules that will help scale the clean hydrogen industry while implementing the environmental safeguards established in the law remains a top priority for Treasury,” a department spokesperson said in an email.

Finding the right balance has been hard. John Podesta, Biden’s senior adviser for international climate policy, called the IRA’s hydrogen incentives “the most complex of the credits, technically and legally” at an event this week celebrating the second anniversary of the law’s passage. He acknowledged the mixed reaction the government’s preliminary guidelines received. “Some people loved it,” Podesta said. “Some people didn’t.”

Even if new guidelines are published now, companies might wait until after the election to see if they need to comply with them, according to Martin Tengler, an analyst at BloombergNEF. Donald Trump has promised to target the IRA if he retakes the White House in November, but his attitude toward hydrogen is unclear.

Policy uncertainty is not confined to the US. German company Thyssenkrupp Nucera in July abandoned its 2025 forecast for its business selling electrolyzers, the machines that split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

“Progress on the regulatory side is recognizable, but at the same time not yet sufficient to accelerate investment momentum again,” Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Officer Werner Ponikwar said in a statement. “The result is further delays to new projects on the customer side.”

Rival Siemens Energy AG has invested €30 million to produce electrolyzer stacks in Berlin together with industrial gas company Air Liquide.

“In the short term, we do observe delays in the release of funding commitments due to regulatory uncertainties, for example in the US and in Europe,” Chief Financial Officer Maria Ferraro said in an analyst call in May. Long-term prospects for the business, however, remain intact, she added.

Some in the industry expect the Treasury Department to soften its rules — although that hasn’t happened yet. Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power Inc., said he expects new guidance soon.

“We won’t be surprised if there’s some announcement after the Democratic convention and a further announcement after the election,” he said during the company’s earnings call last week. “I think it’s really clear that the regulations on the three pillars are going to become much looser.”

Carbon-free green hydrogen remains far more expensive than hydrogen from natural gas, and until that changes, companies have little incentive to start using it as a fuel. But costs won’t come down until the wave of planned green hydrogen plants start opening, Tengler said. And they won’t move forward until the federal government finalizes its tax rules.

“The only way green hydrogen becomes cheaper is by building projects, but with these early projects stalled, the industry is being choked before it’s even born,” Tengler said.

Accounting

Estate planning for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiration

Published

54 seconds ago

April 4, 2025

Business Finance News

The political calculus involved with the details of estate planning next year and beyond may be distracting financial advisors and clients from a larger, simpler conversation, one expert says.

On the off chance that the federal estate-tax exemption levels of $13.99 million for individuals (and double for couples) revert to half those amounts when Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions expire in 2026, only 0.2% of households would face potential duties upon transfer of assets, according to Ben Rizzuto, a wealth strategist with Janus Henderson Investors‘ Specialist Consulting Group. He predicted that most financial advisors and high net worth clients, such as those he works with and others across the industry, will see no changes.

With few other revenue-raising provisions available to President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers, they’re not likely to shield all estates from payments to Uncle Sam — as much as they might like to play undertaker to the “Death of the Death Tax,” Rizzuto said, using the label for estate taxes adopted by critics favoring bills like the “Death Tax Repeal Act.” Lawmakers’ decisions on future exemptions from the taxes (and when they make those decisions) remain out of advisors’ control. Meanwhile, they must remind clients that estate planning is much more than having a will and avoiding taxes, Rizzuto said.

“For financial advisors and clients, I would expect for many of them not to have to worry about federal estate taxes next year,” he said in an interview. “Even though they may not have to worry about it, there are still a lot of good conversations to be had.”

The 1%

Trust tools that reduce the value of the assets that will transfer to spouses or other beneficiaries upon a client’s death, combined with the available statistics about the shrinking share of estates subject to taxes, could bring some peace of mind to clients. The 2017 tax law itself pushed down estate tax liability as a percentage of gross domestic product to a quarter of its 2001 level, according to an analysis by the “Budget Model” of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Just two years after the law’s passage, the number of taxable estates had plummeted to 1,275 — or 1% of the number at the beginning of the century.

At the same time, advisors could raise any number of questions with clients about their estates that involve varying degrees of expertise and collaboration with outside professionals. And many surveys have found that clients are expecting them to do so. For example, at least 70% out of a group of 10,000 adults contacted in January by WeAreTalker (formerly OnePoll) on behalf of online legal information service Trust & Will said advisors should offer estate planning. In addition, 40% of the group said they would switch to an advisor who provided that service.

“We’re seeing a fundamental shift in client expectations,” Trust & Will CEO Cody Barbo said in a statement. “The findings are clear. Advisors who fail to integrate estate planning into their practice aren’t just missing an opportunity; they are facing a threat to their client base as wealth transfers to younger generations over the next two decades.”

Get back to the planning basics

In that context, advisors and their clients should steer clear of trying to make sense of a complicated, ever-changing flow of news from Capitol Hill as Trump and the GOP pursue major tax legislation with a year-end deadline, Rizzuto said. If clients truly could be on the hook for estate taxes, a grantor retained annuity trust, a spousal lifetime access trust or gifting strategies may eliminate the possibility. One method involved with the latter could set them up in the future to receive stock that is “highly appreciated with lower basis,” Rizzuto noted, citing the example of equities that have gained a lot of value that a client could give to their parents.

“Why not gift them upstream?” Rizzuto said. “My father holds it. I tell him, ‘Dad, you have to do these things: Live for another 12 months, make sure you don’t sell, make sure that you update your will or your instructions to gift it back to me when you die.’ That’s another idea that we’ve been talking about with advisors.”

From another perspective, these possible paths forward may beckon to clients this year, if they are tuning into Beltway news about the progress of the tax legislation, he said. To bypass the risk of client perceptions that their advisor isn’t doing any tax planning at all, Washington’s complex maneuvering around the future rules is, “if nothing else,” a “great opportunity for advisors to bring this up at a very high level,” Rizzuto said.

“Advisors will really need to go back to basics and have some foundational conversations with clients,” he said, suggesting their goals with taxes as one key point of discussion. “‘What is it that we actually control within your financial and tax plan?’ When it comes right down to it, it’s really just incomes and deductions.”

Accounting

Developing future leaders in accounting: the new imperative in an AI and automation driven era

Published

3 hours ago

April 4, 2025

Business Finance News

As technology continues to automate routine tasks, the role of finance professionals is evolving, demanding deeper capabilities in critical thinking, communication and business acumen.

Many of PrimeGlobal’s North American firms are focused on cultivating these skills in their future leaders. Carla McCall, managing partner at AAFCPAs, Randy Nail, CEO of HoganTaylor, and Grassi managing partner Louis Grassi shared their views with PrimeGlobal CEO Steve Heathcote on the need for future leaders to balance technological proficiency with human-centered skills to thrive.

AI is transforming the sector by streamlining workflows, automating data analysis and reducing manual processes. However, rather than replacing accountants, AI is reshaping their roles, enabling them to focus on higher-value tasks. In the words of Louis Grassi, AI can be seen as a strategic partner, freeing accountants from routine tasks, enabling deeper engagement with clients, more thoughtful analysis, and ultimately better decision-making.

Nail emphasized the importance of embracing AI, warning that those who fail to adapt risk being replaced by professionals who leverage the technology more effectively. HoganTaylor’s “innovation sprint” generated over 100 ideas for AI integration, underscoring why a proactive approach to adopting new technologies is so necessary and valuable.

McCall advocates for an educational shift that equips professionals with the skills to interpret AI-generated insights. She stressed that accounting curricula of the future must evolve to incorporate advanced technology training, ensuring future accountants are well-versed in AI tools and data analytics. Moreover, simulation-based learning is becoming increasingly crucial as traditional methods of education become obsolete in the face of automation.

Talent development and leadership growth

As AI reshapes the profession, firms must rethink how they develop and nurture their future leaders. To attract and retain top talent, firms need to prioritize personalized development plans that align with individual career goals.

HoganTaylor’s approach to talent development integrates technical expertise with leadership and communication training. These initiatives ensure professionals are not only proficient in accounting principles but also equipped to lead teams and navigate complex client interactions.

Nail underscored the growing importance of writing and presentation skills, as AI will handle routine tasks, leaving professionals to focus on higher-level analytical and decision-making responsibilities.

Soft skills are the success skills

While technical proficiency remains vital, future leaders must also cultivate critical thinking, communication and adaptability — skills McCall refers to as the “success skills.” McCall highlights the necessity of business acumen and analytical communication, essential for interpreting data, advising clients and making strategic decisions.

Recognizing teamwork and collaboration remain crucial in the hybrid work environment, McCall explained in detail how AAFCPA fosters collaboration through structured remote engagement strategies such as “intentional office time,” alcove sessions and stand-up meetings. Similarly, HoganTaylor supports remote teams by offering training for career advisors to ensure effective mentorship and engagement in a dispersed workforce.

McCall emphasized why global experience can be valuable in leadership development. Exposure to diverse markets and accounting practices enhances professionals’ adaptability and broadens their perspectives, preparing them for leadership roles in an increasingly interconnected world.

Grassi reminded us that an often-overlooked leadership skill is curiosity. In his view the most effective leaders of tomorrow will be inherently curious — not just about emerging technologies but about clients, market shifts and global trends. Encouraging curiosity and continuous learning within our firms will distinguish the true industry leaders from those simply reacting to change.

A balanced future

What’s clear from speaking to our leaders is PrimeGlobal’s role in fostering trust, community and knowledge sharing. McCall recommended member-driven panels to discuss AI implementation and automation strategies and share best practice. Nail, on the other hand, valued PrimeGlobal’s focus on addressing critical industry issues and encouraged continuous evolution to meet professionals’ changing needs.

The future of leadership in the accountancy profession hinges on a balanced approach, leveraging AI to enhance efficiency while cultivating essential human skills that technology cannot replicate, which Grassi highlights skills including leadership and building client trust.

As McCall and Nail advocate, the next generation of accountants must be agile thinkers, skilled communicators and strategic decision-makers. Firms that invest in these competencies will not only stay competitive but will also shape the future of the industry by developing well-rounded leaders prepared for the challenges ahead.

By investing in both AI capabilities and essential human skills, firms can not only future proof their leadership but also shape a resilient and forward-thinking profession ready to meet the challenges of the future.

As Grassi concluded, while technical skills provide the foundation, leadership in accounting increasingly demands emotional intelligence, empathy and adaptability. AI will change how we perform our work, but human connection, trust and nuanced judgment are irreplaceable. Investing in these human-centric skills today is critical for firms aiming to build resilient leaders of tomorrow. To remain relevant and thrive, professionals must prioritize developing strong success skills that will define the leaders of tomorrow.