Critical Minerals Investment Tax Modernization Act of 2026

Key Points

• Sen. Husted introduced a bill to give tax breaks to companies that mine rare earth minerals in the United States. These minerals are essential for making high-tech products like smartphones, electric car batteries, and advanced military equipment.
• The bill increases a specific tax deduction, called a depletion rate, to 22% for these minerals. This allows mining companies to keep more of their earnings to help cover the costs of digging up and processing materials that are difficult to find.
• By making it cheaper to mine in the U.S., the policy aims to reduce the country's reliance on foreign nations for critical supplies. This is intended to strengthen the domestic supply chain for technology and energy products.
• The new tax rules would apply to 15 specific elements known as lanthanides, as well as a mineral called scandium. If the bill becomes law, these changes would take effect starting in the next tax year.

Impact Analysis

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