The American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers separately criticized US Senate legislation that would expand to 200,000 the number of electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit.
Sen. Deborah A. Stabenow (D-Mich.) introduced S. 1094 on Apr. 9, with Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) introducing a companion bill in the US House the same day.
“At a time when climate change is having a real effect on Michigan, today’s legislation is something we can do now to reduce emissions and combat carbon pollution,” Stabenow said.
API and AFPM officials disagreed. “We strongly oppose this proposed legislation and believe that continuing to force American workers to bankroll electric vehicle purchases by the wealthiest is bad policy—especially considering that conventional fuels and vehicles have never been cleaner or more efficient,” AFPM Pres. Chet Thompson said.
“The EV tax credit was designed to sunset. After a decade of subsidies worth billions of dollars, it’s time for EVs to compete on a level playing field,” Thompson said.
“It’s difficult to believe anyone—even people who drive luxury cars—would think it’s good public policy to make the average taxpayer subsidize wealthy luxury car owners,” said Frank J. Macchiarola, API’s downstream and industry operations group director.
Data show that the current policy provides tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of working-class families, Macchiarola said. “In fact, the top 20% of earners receive 90% of all of these tax credits. We oppose S. 1094 and urge others to do the same,” he said.
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