Senate proposal would double PHEV tax credit to 500,000 units
Late last year, the Senate passed legislation that called for big tax credits for plug-in hybrid vehicles. As it was originally written, the credits were dependent on the size of the car's battery pack and ranged from $2,500 to $7,500 – the Chevy Volt is the only production car currently announced that would get the full credit – and only the first 250,000 PHEVs sold, regardless of manufacturer, would qualify. Now, though, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee is revisiting this legislation and a proposal is currently on the table that would increase that figure to 500,000 individual units. What's more, the new legislation would include vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or more, increasing the available credit to as much as $15,000 for these heavy-duty vehicles.
A separate line of credit would be made available for low-speed vehicles, motorcycles, and three-wheeled vehicles (like those from Aptera, we presume) that would otherwise meet the PHEV criteria, if not for their lack of wheels or top speed limitations, that allows credits of up to $4,000.
[Source: Green Car Congress]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
meme 1:50PM (1/28/2009)
The bill, while welcome, is poorly designed. It groups together crummy Chinese plastic NEVs with vehicles like the Aptera and limits the total number of credits for that group to 50,000.
Better than nothing, I guess.
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gorr 1:27PM (1/28/2009)
What about actual electric vehicule powered by hydrogen fuelcells that are sleeping but ready since years and years and that larry burn from Gm and toyota said last years that they were ready for commercialisation ?
It's easy to see that actual goverment is just protecting actual natural ressources cartel, big oil, coal, nuclear, natural gas electric generation, tax money.
Nothing for new players like hydrogen production machines or green algae fuels that can replace polluting technology. Goverment cash-in in any problems people have to protect them. If you invent a good solution, then you become a terrorist menacing state subsidized folks.
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Tim 2:09PM (1/28/2009)
500,000 units times an average cost of $5K equals $2.5 million in tax deductions.
They (Congress and the Fed) gave their banker friends (masters) $ TRILLIONS in DIRECT taxpayer (debt) payments which they used to consolidate their financial power over us.
Even a deaf, dumb and blind retard can see that Congress does NOT work for the American taxpayer.
The Banks & notFederal noReserve are just wagging their Obama lap dog....
Change? You asked for it!
Welcome to the New World Order. Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimilated or you will be exterminated!
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Red 2:45PM (1/28/2009)
So move to Canada and stop whining.
Tim 3:16PM (1/28/2009)
I was not born in Canada and I'll stop whining when they re-discover their honor and obey their OATH to the Constitution and when every last cowardly Statist is ejected from this (once) great nation of ours.
Chris M 9:33PM (1/28/2009)
Tim, your math is off. 500,000 units times $5,000 is $2.5 billion. Even assuming lots of smaller units will smaller credits, costs could easily exceed a billion dollars.
It looks like the next few years are going to be really interesting for the plug-in market.
dave 2:27PM (1/28/2009)
Tim,
Check your math--it's billion. But I do agree with everything else you stated.
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Tim 3:28PM (1/28/2009)
Millions, billions, whatever.
It's all the same when your spending someone else's money or you can print (borrow) an unlimited amount of fiat money from the unFederal noReserve bank AT INTEREST and send the bill to someone else.
Statists are evil but taxpayers are schmucks!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmuck
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Will 8:27AM (1/29/2009)
Being off by a factor of 1000 is what you just did there.
How do I know all of your other comments aren't that far off as well?
stevejust 9:01PM (1/28/2009)
Someone might want to tell Henrich Fisker this, because I'm pretty sure he's been calculating the cost of the Karma with a $7,500.00 tax credit.
And since -- judging from the production version at the Detriot Auto Show -- they'll be seeing the road long before the Volt, this is something to pay attention to.
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James 11:46PM (1/28/2009)
It is not just a PHEV tax credit. It is also an EV tax credit.
The Tesla Roadster is actually the first vehicle that qualifies for the full $7,500 tax credit.
The Volt is vaporware until someone can buy one.
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Brn 4:21PM (1/30/2009)
There shouldn't be tax credits for $100,000+ luxury items. I'm less than pleased with having my taxes help pay for a millionaire's sports car.
James 7:57PM (1/30/2009)
Those people paying the $100,000 for the Tesla Roadster are actually paying for the R&D that will enable other more affordable electric cars to be produced.
For example, Tesla Motors just signed a deal to produce 1,000 battery/charger systems for Daimler on the Smart EV. That will be a very affordable vehicle.
Try to see beyond the class warfare argument and realize that the high end Roadster is what will make everything else possible.
Brn 11:26PM (1/30/2009)
If someone wants to spend $100,000 for a toy, more power to them. If we want to use tax dollars to fund research, let's do that. Giving the millionaire a tax credit is a very inefficient way to spend that money.
James 11:30PM (1/30/2009)
Luckily people like you are not calling the shots.
The work Tesla Motors has accomplish if being given credit by many people as being the source of every major auto company agressively restarting their EV programs.
That tax credit for every EV is key to it.
Your irrational hatred is misplaced.