Energy bill gives tax credits - allows savings to buyers of fuel-efficient cars
07-28-05, 06:05 AM
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Energy bill gives tax credits - allows savings to buyers of fuel-efficient cars
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Measure allows savings to buyers of fuel-efficient cars. Critics wary of push for energy production.
By Jeff Plungis / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- After five years of stops and starts, Congress is nearing completion of a wide-ranging energy bill that contains tax credits for consumers who buy hybrids and other fuel-saving cars.
The energy plan, being finalized in a House-Senate conference committee Tuesday, would allow a limited number of car buyers each year to claim between $500 and $3,400 in tax savings, depending on how much fuel a car or truck saves compared with other models.
Under a staff summary of the plan, "clean car tax credits" would be capped at 60,000 units a year for each manufacturer. The credits are expected to cost the government $874 million over 10 years.
"It's all about having the marketplace, not regulation, driving the move into cleaner cars," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, sponsor of the car-tax credits. "This is about getting new technologies into the marketplace as soon as possible."
While the overall goal of the energy bill was to reduce dependence on foreign oil, congressional negotiators rejected several efforts to reduce petroleum consumption in the United States, including several attempts to require more fuel-efficient cars.
Environmental groups criticized Congress for crafting a national energy plan that stressed energy production, including billions of dollars in tax breaks for energy companies.
Automakers have been pushing for tax credits to offset the cost of the expensive new powertrains needed to deliver the fuel savings. In its earliest forms, the bill would have focused on hybrids and fuel cell-powered cars and trucks. General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG successfully lobbied to include diesel engines in the bill.
By limiting the tax credits to 60,000 vehicles per manufacturer per year, congressional tax writers were able to limit the overall price tag of the provision. But activists who worked to obtain the credits wondered if they would work on that scale.
"We need to be talking about selling millions of hybrids a year," said David Friedman, research director of the Union of Concerned Scientists clean vehicle program. "The purpose of these tax credits is to get us over the hump."
Measure allows savings to buyers of fuel-efficient cars. Critics wary of push for energy production.
By Jeff Plungis / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- After five years of stops and starts, Congress is nearing completion of a wide-ranging energy bill that contains tax credits for consumers who buy hybrids and other fuel-saving cars.
The energy plan, being finalized in a House-Senate conference committee Tuesday, would allow a limited number of car buyers each year to claim between $500 and $3,400 in tax savings, depending on how much fuel a car or truck saves compared with other models.
Under a staff summary of the plan, "clean car tax credits" would be capped at 60,000 units a year for each manufacturer. The credits are expected to cost the government $874 million over 10 years.
"It's all about having the marketplace, not regulation, driving the move into cleaner cars," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, sponsor of the car-tax credits. "This is about getting new technologies into the marketplace as soon as possible."
While the overall goal of the energy bill was to reduce dependence on foreign oil, congressional negotiators rejected several efforts to reduce petroleum consumption in the United States, including several attempts to require more fuel-efficient cars.
Environmental groups criticized Congress for crafting a national energy plan that stressed energy production, including billions of dollars in tax breaks for energy companies.
Automakers have been pushing for tax credits to offset the cost of the expensive new powertrains needed to deliver the fuel savings. In its earliest forms, the bill would have focused on hybrids and fuel cell-powered cars and trucks. General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG successfully lobbied to include diesel engines in the bill.
By limiting the tax credits to 60,000 vehicles per manufacturer per year, congressional tax writers were able to limit the overall price tag of the provision. But activists who worked to obtain the credits wondered if they would work on that scale.
"We need to be talking about selling millions of hybrids a year," said David Friedman, research director of the Union of Concerned Scientists clean vehicle program. "The purpose of these tax credits is to get us over the hump."
07-28-05, 07:49 AM
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Originally Posted by AmethySC
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Measure allows savings to buyers of fuel-efficient cars. Critics wary of push for energy production.
By Jeff Plungis / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- After five years of stops and starts, Congress is nearing completion of a wide-ranging energy bill that contains tax credits for consumers who buy hybrids and other fuel-saving cars.
The energy plan, being finalized in a House-Senate conference committee Tuesday, would allow a limited number of car buyers each year to claim between $500 and $3,400 in tax savings, depending on how much fuel a car or truck saves compared with other models.
Under a staff summary of the plan, "clean car tax credits" would be capped at 60,000 units a year for each manufacturer. The credits are expected to cost the government $874 million over 10 years.
"It's all about having the marketplace, not regulation, driving the move into cleaner cars," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, sponsor of the car-tax credits. "This is about getting new technologies into the marketplace as soon as possible."
While the overall goal of the energy bill was to reduce dependence on foreign oil, congressional negotiators rejected several efforts to reduce petroleum consumption in the United States, including several attempts to require more fuel-efficient cars.
Environmental groups criticized Congress for crafting a national energy plan that stressed energy production, including billions of dollars in tax breaks for energy companies.
Automakers have been pushing for tax credits to offset the cost of the expensive new powertrains needed to deliver the fuel savings. In its earliest forms, the bill would have focused on hybrids and fuel cell-powered cars and trucks. General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG successfully lobbied to include diesel engines in the bill.
By limiting the tax credits to 60,000 vehicles per manufacturer per year, congressional tax writers were able to limit the overall price tag of the provision. But activists who worked to obtain the credits wondered if they would work on that scale.
"We need to be talking about selling millions of hybrids a year," said David Friedman, research director of the Union of Concerned Scientists clean vehicle program. "The purpose of these tax credits is to get us over the hump."
Measure allows savings to buyers of fuel-efficient cars. Critics wary of push for energy production.
By Jeff Plungis / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- After five years of stops and starts, Congress is nearing completion of a wide-ranging energy bill that contains tax credits for consumers who buy hybrids and other fuel-saving cars.
The energy plan, being finalized in a House-Senate conference committee Tuesday, would allow a limited number of car buyers each year to claim between $500 and $3,400 in tax savings, depending on how much fuel a car or truck saves compared with other models.
Under a staff summary of the plan, "clean car tax credits" would be capped at 60,000 units a year for each manufacturer. The credits are expected to cost the government $874 million over 10 years.
"It's all about having the marketplace, not regulation, driving the move into cleaner cars," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, sponsor of the car-tax credits. "This is about getting new technologies into the marketplace as soon as possible."
While the overall goal of the energy bill was to reduce dependence on foreign oil, congressional negotiators rejected several efforts to reduce petroleum consumption in the United States, including several attempts to require more fuel-efficient cars.
Environmental groups criticized Congress for crafting a national energy plan that stressed energy production, including billions of dollars in tax breaks for energy companies.
Automakers have been pushing for tax credits to offset the cost of the expensive new powertrains needed to deliver the fuel savings. In its earliest forms, the bill would have focused on hybrids and fuel cell-powered cars and trucks. General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG successfully lobbied to include diesel engines in the bill.
By limiting the tax credits to 60,000 vehicles per manufacturer per year, congressional tax writers were able to limit the overall price tag of the provision. But activists who worked to obtain the credits wondered if they would work on that scale.
"We need to be talking about selling millions of hybrids a year," said David Friedman, research director of the Union of Concerned Scientists clean vehicle program. "The purpose of these tax credits is to get us over the hump."
KUDOS to our leaders in Washington!!! This is a GREAT move. This is a good begining step!
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