Texas To Offer $2,500 Tax Credit For Alt-Fuel Vehicles

Though Texas may not be a fan of Tesla’s direct sales model, the Lone Star state is ready to offer alternative-fuel vehicle buyers some extra cash. As soon as next week, buyers of CNG, propane, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicles will be eligible for a $2,500 state tax credit. Combined with the $7,500 Federal tax credit, this could chop $10,000 off the cost of a new alt-fuel vehicle.

The credit only applies to vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 9,600 pounds or less, which is generous enough to apply to many commercial vehicles like the VIA X-Trux. The only other eligibility factor is that EVs must have a battery size of at least 4 kWh, a low barrier of entry that applies to pretty much every hybrid or EV out there, including the Chevy Volt. I wonder if this isn’t also an olive branch to Tesla Motors in a bid to bring the Tesla Gigafactory to Texas.

Actually, scratch that; the tax credit doesn’t apply to Tesla vehicles as they’re “illegal” to sell in Texas, requiring customers to jump though numerous hoops to get their EVs.

Alas, this tax credit is also limited-time offer, expiring in next August and with just enough funding to pay for 2,000 CNG/LPG and 2,000 electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. With 26 million people calling Texas home and more than 1.275 million new car sales in 2012 alone, this tax credit isn’t likely to make it to next year. It’s an interesting dichotomy going on in Texas, a state where green energy is big business, but dug-in interests seem are doing what they can to halt the march of progress.

If you’re a resident of Texas in the market for a cleaner car, you might want to get a jump on this offer while you can.

Source:  Charged

Don’t Mess With Texas: State Considering An Electric Vehicle Tax

Texas joins a growing number of states considering an electric car tax to make up for lost gasoline revenue.

So far Virginia is considering electric car tax and Washington State already has a $100 fee put into place. Now Texas has added itself to the mix. The state of Texas, like Virginia, has not changed its gas tax in about twenty years – the Texas gas tax sits at 38.4 cents per gallon.

Republican Representative Drew Darby, who has come out to be the voice of this proposal, has suggested that, “electric vehicles that tear up our roads”, need to pay their fair share.  Plug-In Texas, a growing group promoting the use of hybrid and battery electric technology, say there are currently only 2,000 plug-in vehicles in the state of Texas. 2,000 plug-in vehicles are not really going put a negative dent in the current gas tax revenue.

There are many concerns here, but let us focus on two. The first concern is that an additional tax on electric vehicles to make up for lost gas revenue will drive consumers away from the electric vehicle market. The second concern is that of a double tax. The vast majority of electric car owners charge their electric cars at home. That’s using electricity that you are already taxed on to power your car. So you’re paying taxes on your electricity and now also to make up for the lack of gas revenue, even though your electric car requires no gas. Oh, and there’s the fact that big rigs and heavy trucks dohundreds thousands of times more damage to the roads than any passenger car or pickup. If anybody needs to pay more road taxes, it is commercial trucking companies.

Policy issues such as this really interest me, what’s going on here? Is this a fear of acceptance of a new technology? We talk about getting away from reliance on oil and yet when we make steps to do just that, in this example using electric vehicles, we discourage the public by slapping a tax on them. Is this about politicians being invested and backed by oil companies? Is this really about generating needed revenue because our American infrastructure is in such bad shape? Or are politicians just being lazy and not taking the time to figure out solutions to complex situations?

I don’t have all the answers, not yet anyhow. But keep an eye on this issue because as more electric vehicles hit the roads it will be interesting to see how certain groups of people react.

Source: csmonitor.com