Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Chip Dillon – Credit Suisse.
Chip Dillon – Credit Suisse
Could you talk a little bit about the timing of the cash payments from the alternative fuels credit? You mentioned I think you effectively got $19 million of the $80 million of benefit in the second quarter. Does that mean that you already are owed, if you will, $61 million that we haven't seen on your balance sheet yet going forward?
Paul T. Stecko
I'm going to let Rick take that. I'll let him answer that.
Richard B. West
That's correct, Chip, that we have not received those amounts at this point. And it's sitting as an asset on our balance sheet, but no cash has been received.
Chip Dillon - Credit Suisse
I noticed it looked like you recognized $76 million of it sort of above the tax line and about $4 million or $5 million of it as an offset to taxes. Why was that?
Richard B. West
Chip, really it was the full amount of $80 million. The other $5 million that you're referring to, the net, is what our expense would have been for other expense items, similar to what you saw last year in the second quarter of 2008.
And, you know, what I would say on that is that many of the companies that are publicly reported on the alternative fuel mixture tax credit, they've appeared to use the excise tax method, which allows you to apply for an immediate refund of the credit. You can get the cash, which is taxable. A second method, which we are using, allows you to take these credits against your income tax owed. As Paul said earlier, we did reduce our second quarter cash tax payments. And both our independent public accountants and other advisers have concluded, based on their assessment of similar credits and circumstances, that no provision for income taxes is required at this point and that these credits may not be taxable.
Chip Dillon - Credit Suisse
Because you have other income you can, in effect, use them against?
Richard B. West
That is correct.
Chip Dillon - Credit Suisse
And then the second question is it looks like you're getting about $12 million a month; is that a good way to look at it?
Richard B. West
You know, we really haven't commented on that. We started up in the partial month in December and it probably varies somewhere from $12 to $18 million a month depending on as we ramped up and put this in full production. The rate's a little higher than that; I'm going to estimate $17 million, $18 million a month.
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