Ironduke

A subject that has piqued my interest now and again. Does anybody else share the opinion that HEV's and electric automobiles should be tax deductible? If the average family could write off $15,000-$20,000 by purchasing one of these vehicles, it would spur sales, and also cut consumption of foreign oil. Tax deductions for purchasing SUV's and pickup trucks helped increase the sales of those, but a negative consequence is an increase in the consumption of foreign crude.

Talk away.

non-asset

To me, hybrids are a no-brainer. Why use just gas when you can be driving and charging a battery at the same time? It's just more efficient, unless there's some huge deficiency I don't know about.

Trooth

I agree. I don't see any reason why incentives shouldn't be given. In defence of the SUV tax break (in the US) i think that was loophole regarding business use and weight of vehicle. Its intent was to encourage small business development. Even so, it showed how a niche area of the market could boom with just indirect help.

Equally i don't think there would be that much resistance. The big oil firms are now all disappearing anyway. They are being replaced by energy firms who are as keen as you or I to have a clean sustainable future - just look at the rebrandings and the adverts that are appearing.

Rahul

I say screw tax deductions for regular cars, SUVs, and Pickups (or anything else that exists via a loophole) and start giving tax deductions for hybrid automobiles of any kind. I agree with you Ironduke as the benefits of paying less for gas are rather obvious.

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Confed999

No tax deductions, just fair taxes for all. Anyway, there allready is a tax rebate, by using less gas they pay less gas tax. I don't know about hybred efficency, but plug in electric cars are only a touch more efficent than a regular, fuel efficent, car once you factor in electric production and transmission inefficencies...

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Trooth

If you wish to reduce a dependancy on oil before the oil runs out there has to be an incentive for people to switch over. One might be some form of reduced tax, or tax credit or some other option that makes those vehicles less dependant on oil more attractive.

Ironduke's argument is that there was a tax break given to make business vehicles cheaper, thus incentivising the small business start-up - this was inadvertently used by people to purchase SUVs. The transformation in that sector of the car industry shows the effect such incetives can have.

Confed999

So, then those of us who cannot use the items in our business get screwed, that's fair...

Ironduke

People would not be punished for not purchasing one, they would be rewarded for doing so.

Confed999

Funny, I see paying more tax as a punishment. The incentive to buy one of these things should be the price of the item vs. what it can do. At this point there is no commercially available hybrd that can compete with a Chev V8 in power, that's the least I can use. Now if you want to give people tax breaks to do the R&D, or to invest in making a lower overhead, more profitable production company, I don't have a problem with that.

Ironduke

Well, you'd have to agree that people who are not eligible for the heavy vehicle tax deduction right now are being punished.

Confed999

Trooth

The "SUV" tax break was designed for those firms were they needed a fairly hefty vehicle to get off the ground. Presumably there is a class of company out there that could make use of a hybrid vehicle. For example, here in the UK, milk is delivered on electric milk floats. Pizzas aren't always delivered on scooters, sometimes small cars and vans. So i see no reason why the same business friendly attitude that helped the SUV craze couldn't be applied to hybrid vehicles.

Confed999

That's not a fair tax either, drop all the "special intrest" tax breaks and give everyone a tax break.

Trooth

That's ideal as long as there isn't an issue about dpendancy on oil. If ther eis, someone has to think of a way to reduce the dependancy before the stuff runs out, or becomes prohibitively expensive to obtain.

Ironduke

It isn't a tax, it's a tax deduction.