Wyoming Congreswoman Liz Cheney on Tuesday called for the elimination of federal electric vehicle tax credits, saying they target the energy industry and only benefit “elites” who make more than $100,000 a year.
Cheney made the statement while announcing she was a co-sponsor of H.R. 3796, the “Eliminate Lavish Incentives to Electric (ELITE) Vehicles Act.”
Cheney said the bill will end the electric vehicles tax credit which she said unfairly targets the energy industry and costs billions in taxpayer funds.
“Eliminating the subsidy will save taxpayers billions of dollars and also help to protect the energy industry from the far-left’s radical environmental agenda,” Cheney said.
According to a Congressional Research Service report, 78% of electric vehicle credits are claimed by filers with an adjusted annual gross income of $100,000 or more, and those filers receive an even higher proportion (83%) of the amount of credits claimed.
Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso introduced identical legislation in the U.S. Senate.
Like Cheney, he mentioned that the tax credits benefit those who have the most money.
“The electric vehicle tax credit largely benefits the wealthiest Americans and costs taxpayers billions of dollars,” Barrasso said.
“Today, the market for electric vehicles is well established. The auto industry no longer needs these pricey subsidies. It is time to pull the plug on subsidies for electric vehicles.”
A study done by the The Manhattan Institute estimates that ending the electric vehicle tax credit would save roughly twenty billion dollars in taxpayer funds over the next decade.
