Eliminating the electric vehicle tax credit is part of Trump's 2020 budget

Isn’t the Republican party the anti-tax party? Not when it comes to electric vehicles, apparently. Earlier this year, Republican senators introduced another bill to end the federal tax credit for EV purchases, and replace it with a new annual tax on EV owners.

Above: Tesla Model 3 charging at a Supercharger (Image: Teslarati via Redditor WattLOL)

Last month, Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), introduced a second bill to kill the tax credit (Senator Barrasso introduced a similar bill last October, during the previous legislative session). 

According to campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets, the Oil and Gas sector is a top financial contributor to all three senators.

Above: Gas pump vs. EV charger (Image: Electrek)

Barrasso told Fox News that all taxpayers share the costs of EVs: “Never before has the electric-car consumer had so many choices. Taxpayers, on the other hand, don’t have any choice. Every time one of these cars sells, the US taxpayer must help pay for it.”

You can contact your senators to express your opinion about this bill - most political activists agree that comments from constituents can indeed make a difference.

As Electrek’s Fred Lambert eloquently points out, the true costs of fossil fuel vehicles (oil spill cleanup, health costs from air pollution, etc etc) are borne not only by US taxpayers, but by the entire population of the Earth.

Above: Tailpipe emissions from fossil fuel powered vehicles aren't helping to clean up our air (Image: The Bulletin)

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, "Major automakers have been lobbying Congress to extend the [EV tax] credit that phases out after companies hit 200,000 vehicles sold." It's reported that, "Tesla Inc and General Motors Co both hit the 200,000 figure last year, but other major automakers are far from that figure."

Fast forward to the present and (unfortunately) the news worsens. This week, "The White House proposed on Monday eliminating a tax credit worth up to $7,500 on the purchase of new electric vehicles." Looking back, the move was telegraphed in December when Trump's economic adviser Larry Kudlow said in response to the EV tax credit, "As a matter of our policy, we want to end all of those subsidies."

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Written by: Charles Morris; An earlier version of this article originally appeared in Charged; Source: Electrek, Reuters