Hundreds of Californians with household incomes of $500,000 or more have collected state subsidies for buying electric and hybrid cars under a program that is criticized as a taxpayer handout to the wealthy.
State regulators, in response, are restricting the subsidies to Californians who earn less than $250,000 or couples taking in less than $500,000. But that standard is also under fire from some lawmakers and anti-tax activists, who ask why subsidies worth up to $5,000 are given to people who can already afford the cars.
“The state should not be diverting … taxes on low-income and middle-class families to benefit wealthy drivers,” said Senate Republican leader Bob Huff of San Dimas.
Money for the subsidies comes from a surcharge on vehicle registration fees and a portion of the smog fee paid by California motorists. There were no income limits for the subsidy when the program was enacted in 2010.
The average household income in California is just over $60,000, noted Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. Subsidies for residents who make $250,000, he said, amount to “welfare for the rich” and “a slap in the face to average Californians.”
“Clean” cars typically cost more than those that run on gasoline. State authorities say they are trying to find the right balance between providing an incentive for the growth of the electric car industry and helping low- and moderate-income drivers buy the vehicles.
“Our policy objective here is to rapidly increase the percentage of zero-emission vehicles in the state,” said Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, which oversees the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program.
ince its start, the program has provided $242 million in rebates to 114,702 people who bought or leased electric or hybrid cars.
Data from the Center for Sustainable Energy, which runs the program on behalf of the Air Resources Board, shows that 7,056 people who live in economically disadvantaged census tracts have received a subsidy. Combined, they collected $14.8 million, less than 6% of the total disbursed. Since its start, the program has provided $242 million in rebates to 114,702 people who bought or leased electric or hybrid cars.
Data from the Center for Sustainable Energy, which runs the program on behalf of the Air Resources Board, shows that 7,056 people who live in economically disadvantaged census tracts have received a subsidy. Combined, they collected $14.8 million, less than 6% of the total disbursed.
http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-electric-cars-20150824-story.html