Originally Posted by
dexeqex
Riddle me this:
Why is there a federal tax credit for buying a new hybrid car (more info:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/...157632,00.html), but no tax credit for having no car at all?
If the goal is environmental conservation we shouldn't be encouraging people to ditch their old cars and get new hybirds because a lot of the environmental damage associated with automobiles occurs during the manufacture. Plus I'm fairly certain that the fuel economy of my bike is better than most any car out there.
Imagine being able to go to the DMV to get an official document that states that for the year 2007 you had no vehicles registered in your name. Then, you could include said document in your Federal tax return and, Voila! "A tax credit is subtracted directly from the total amount of federal tax owed, thus reducing or even eliminating the taxpayer’s tax obligation."
I'm trying to decide whether or not to write my congressperson, but I wanted to know what you guys think.
Cheers,
Dex
I haven't read the rest of this thread yet.
Some lawmaker/s likely got some good campaign donations from certain people/groups/corporations to cleverly increase the sales of the these cars with newer technology that cost a lot of money to develop. They can pretend that they care about the environment (and get votes from "environmentalists") by passing a law that provides tax breaks to people that buy these cars. This makes the manufactures of these cars more money because it helps to sell these cars. It's business and, yes, our government is for sale.
What's the benefit for lawmakers to create a law that provides tax breaks to people without cars? Do you think your congressperson cares that you'd like a tax break because you ride a bike instead of a car?