Non-binding amendment restricts income, slashes EV top price
Sharp response to House and Presidental EV incentive plans
A Senate amendment to US EV tax rules would gut the federal incentives for plug-in hybrids as well as limit the maximum cost of an EV that would qualify. The new non-binding amendment would cut PHEV credits from $7,500 and cap new EV credits to those vehicles that cost less than $40,000 while cutting the PHEV credit for those with an annual income of more than $100,000.
The non-binding amendment to the $3.5t budget resolution passed 51-48 with three Democrat senators voting against and one Republican voting for.
Current U.S. PHEV tax credits allow up to $7,500, depending on the size of the vehicle battery. That, as well as the EV credit of the same amount, applies to the first 200,000 plug-in vehicles an automaker sells. GM, Nissan, and Tesla have all already surpassed this volume limit. The
The new amendment, proposed by Republican Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska proposed removing that PHEV credit completely to taxpayers making more than $100,000 per year. For EV models, Fischer’s amendment would cut any vehicles with a cost more than $40,000. That would leave only the Hyundai Ioniq EV, Hyundai Kona EV, and Mini Cooper SE qualifying for the full amount.
“We shouldn’t be subsidizing luxury vehicles for the rich using hard-working taxpayer money,” Fischer said via Twitter.
The move comes just days after President Biden signed an executive order that targets 50 percent of US new vehicles sales to be EVs by 2030.
