taxes
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With Tesla likely to hit 200,000 electric cars sold in the U.S. later this year, it will begin a phasedown process during which the income-tax credits available to its buyers start to dwindle on a set schedule. General Motors is likely to hit the same cap a couple of quarters after Tesla. Now those two companies are lobbying for an expansion of the tax credit—and they've been joined by some allies from an entirely different industry. DON'T MISS: Tesla expects 200,000th U.S. sale this year, electric-car tax credits to start phaseout CEO Mary Barra of General Motors called on Congress two...
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Maine to hit hybrids, electric cars with fees higher than gas tax?
Maine has become the latest in a growing string of states to propose adding registration fees for hybrid and electric cars to make up for tax revenue on the gasoline they don't use, or use less of. But it's also part of a much smaller group of those states in which the fees are punitive: drivers of...
John Voelcker -
Effect of Trump solar-panel import tariffs on clean-power growth debated
A majority of the photovoltaic solar panels used in the U.S. are imported from such countries as China, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Now, environmentalists and energy analysts worry that the new 30-percent tariff on solar-panel imports announced last Monday by President Donald...
Aaron Cole -
Senate tax plan leaves electric-car purchase credit in place
The battle over early termination of the U.S. income-tax credit for purchase of an electric car took a new turn on Thursday. HR1, the draft Tax Cut and Jobs Act introduced in the House of Representatives, would end the credit as of December 31. The U.S. Senate version of the tax-reform bill...
John Voelcker -
Draft tax bill eliminates credit for all electric-car buyers: report (updated)
The process of drafting a so-called tax reform bill has been shrouded in mystery, with even Republican congressmembers admitting they didn't know what provisions it would contain. But according to a report on Thursday, the draft of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act proposed in the House of Representatives...
John Voelcker -
Electric Mini to be made in U.K., despite BMW's Brexit worries (updated)
Mini, despite being owned by BMW since 1994, has long been a decidedly British brand. But both employees and fans worried that its British roots might be overlooked as a decision on where Mini's electric car is to be built closed in. Most Mini production takes place at the brand's Oxford plant in...
Sean Szymkowski -
Several different states have continued to propose new fees for electric-car owners as a way to pay for road repairs. The fees are typically meant as a substitute for the gasoline taxes that, because they don't buy gas, electric-car owners don't pay. Advocates have criticized these fees, saying they effectively penalize drivers for reducing emissions, and may dissuade potential buyers. DON'T MISS: Indiana too slaps electric cars with $150 fee for not using gas Nonetheless, 2017 has already seen a flurry of new proposed electric-car fees. Just since the start of this year, no fewer than six...
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Indiana too slaps electric cars with $150 fee for not using gas
A bill before the Indiana legislature would add an annual fee for electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Michigan socks hybrid owners with new fees—that don't apply to most hybrids (updated)
The state of Michigan, to help pay for road repairs, decided more than a year ago to hit owners of hybrids and electric cars with additional fees starting this January 1—on top of higher registration rates for all cars. The new fees have been added to the registration bills for hybrids...
John Voelcker -
Reminder: buy that electric-car charging station (or electric motorcycle) this month!
With any new presidential administration comes a certain degree of legislative uncertainty. Conflicting statements on many issues by president-elect Donald Trump have produced more questions than usual about what policies he and his administration may pursue. But for present and future electric-car...
John Voelcker -
Ending $4 billion U.S. oil, gas drilling subsidies would have low impact: study
U.S. subsidies to the oil and gas industries are often a flashpoint among electric-car advocates and environmentalists. They see a conflict in the government providing billions of dollars in incentives for drilling while simultaneously attempting to lower consumption of carbon-emitting energy...
John Voelcker -
What is a carbon tax and how would it work? A primer
A carbon tax would be a useful tool for curbing emissions, many economists believe.
Stephen Edelstein -
Congress has taken an important step to advance cleaner transport with the introduction of new, fairer taxation for natural gas. The 'LNG Excise Tax Equalization Act of 2013' is designed to equalize the discrepancy between taxation of diesel and liquefied natural gas (LNG). ALSO SEE: Tesla Model 3, To Be Revealed In March, Might Have 300-Mile Range: Report Currently, both are taxed at the same federal rate of 24.3 cents per gallon. FURTHER UPDATE: Legislation that accomplishes the same goals as the Alternative Fuel Tax Parity Act was passed in July 2015 by the House and the Senate as part of...
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Why Higher Gas Taxes Would Have Been Best Way To Save Fuel
It's now a widely-accepted tenet of today's U.S. political landscape: You just can't come out and advocate for higher taxes. For any purpose, under any circumstances, no matter what the end purposes. Any politician who does so will be punished by voters. DON'T MISS: Low Gas Price An Opportunity For...
John Voelcker -
Oregon To Test Nation's First Per-Mile Road Fee In Lieu Of Gas Taxes
Oregon will test a system that tracks vehicle mileage to determine taxes.
Stephen Edelstein -
California Bill Would Slash Sales Tax On Greenest New Vehicles
The California Legislature will considering cutting the sales tax on battery-electric cars, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, and compressed natural gas cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tax Breaks Back For Electric-Car Charging Stations, Natural-Gas Cars, Through End Of Year
It's the end of another Congressional session, which means that a budget extension bill has now been rushed through and is likely to be signed. Called The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (H.R. 5771), it contains special provisions, rule tweaks, and concessions for many, many, many different...
John Voelcker -
Wisconsin: Higher Taxes For Hybrids, Electrics For Not Burning Enough Gas To Fund Road Repairs?
Wisconsin may join the ranks of state that charge a flat fee for green cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Two facts sit in opposition to each other in Washington, D.C., and have for many years. First, raising taxes--in any way, for any purpose, under any circumstances--is virtually impossible. Second, the U.S. Highway Trust Fund is broke, because the Federal gasoline tax hasn't been raised in two decades and continually improving fuel economy means new cars use less gas to cover the same miles--meaning lower revenues. DON'T MISS: All Taxes Are Automatically Always Bad; Are Potholes Worse? Now, two senators have introduced a bill that would raise the Federal tax on both gasoline and diesel fuel by...
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Toyota's Texas Move: Prius Maker Lands In Highest-Carbon State (Updated)
Toyota announced yesterday that it would relocate the headquarters of its U.S. arm from Torrance, California, to Plano, Texas. Left unaddressed in the announcement was the fact that the Japanese carmaker, known for its green image and its pioneering Prius hybrid range of 50-mpg cars, is moving from...
John Voelcker -
Virginia Sees Sense, Scraps 2013's Hybrid Vehicle Tax
Taxes are rarely popular, but if they're to be accepted by the populace the bare minimum they have to do is make sense. Virginia's annual tax on hybrid vehicles did not make sense. Proposed and enacted early last year, the tax added a fixed yearly sum to the cost of running a hybrid vehicle, in an...
Antony Ingram -
Electric-Car Charging-Station Tax Credit Expires On Dec 31st
Consider this your last warning: If you're planning on getting a charging station for a plug-in electric car, you only have 30 days. More specifically, at least, you'll have to get it up and running by December 31 this year in order to take advantage of a Federal income-tax credit of 30 percent of...
John Voelcker -
Gas Tax Unchanged For 20 Years Today; Road Costs, However...
A new report says a fixed gas tax won't be able to keep up with rising road construction costs.
Stephen Edelstein -
Beijing Adds Pollution Tax To Fuel To Curb Huge Smog Problems
Smog-choked Chinese capital Beijing will be the first city in the country to introduce a new pollution tax. Following months of pollution far above safe levels, major Chinese cities have scrabbled to find a solution for improving air quality. Gasgoo reports Beijing will introduce a new tax this...
Antony Ingram