This editorial originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is planning to eliminate a $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit that helps consumers afford clean cars while supporting the U.S. auto industry.
Combined with his pledge to roll back vehicle emissions standards that require automakers to sell more electric vehicles, ending the credit would be a big step backward for clean air, the climate, consumers, manufacturing employment and our economy.
Here are five reasons why the EV tax credit is worth keeping, and why scrapping it would be a counterproductive mistake.
- Ending the EV tax credit will raise consumer costs. EVs are growing in popularity worldwide, but most Americans need help affording plug-in vehicles because they still cost more, on average, than their gas-fueled counterparts. That’s the whole idea behind the tax credit, which allows consumers to claim up to $7,500 to offset the purchase price. The policy is working, making EVs more affordable and competitive with gas-fueled models, especially accounting for the many thousands of dollars EV owners save over the lifetime of their vehicles from lower fuel and maintenance costs.
- Tax incentives are a bipartisan solution. Presidents of both parties have for nearly two decades supported federal incentives for cleaner vehicles. The tax credit was established in 2005 under George W. Bush as a $3,400 incentive to help offset the purchase of a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle. In 2008, Bush signed legislation that applied it to plug-in vehicles and expanded the credit to up to $7,500.
- The EV credit supports American jobs. The auto industry is a cornerstone of the U.S. economy, providing more than 1 million jobs, and its strength is increasingly dependent on its success in making the global transition from its gas-fueled past to an electric-powered future.
The U.S. auto industry wants to keep the consumer EV tax credit, and automakers don’t want the incoming Trump administration to scrap federal rules requiring them to sell more EVs. They have understandably cited the need for stability and predictability for the industry, as well as a desire to remain competitive and recoup hundreds of billions of investment in the transition to EVs.