When car dealers turn off their lights on Tuesday, they also will pull the plug on Georgia’s $5,000 tax credit for the purchase of electric vehicles.
When the dealerships open their doors the next day, the first day of fiscal 2016, new legislation will have taken effect that ends the per-vehicle tax credit and also imposes a $200 yearly registration fee on zero-emission vehicles.
That double whammy has some car buyers facing a decision of whether to take advantage of the expiring credit in the next week or hang tight for a new class of electric vehicles with supercharged battery life that’s expected to roll off the assembly lines within the next few years.
Car dealers are trying to make the most of impending deadline. Many have unleashed screaming advertisements urging shoppers to buy now before the tax credit disappears. (A $7,500 federal tax credit on the cars will still remain intact).
The program’s supporters said it helped reduce pollution and smog in Georgia and made the state a haven for electric vehicles. Tim Echols, a member of the state’s Public Service Commission, also called it a “millennial magnet” that helped attract the best and brightest young people to Atlanta.
But the projected $50 million price tag proved enticing for lawmakers looking for ways to raise about $1 billion in new revenue for transportation.
State Rep. Chuck Martin, the Alpharetta Republican who championed the change, said it would be misguided for the state to continue a program that would “let a select group of 10,000 or more individuals drive a particular type of car for free or almost free.”
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