Congress is considering extending the so-called “SUV” tax break that will cost nearly $2 billion and further our dependence on oil by encouraging small businesses to buy the biggest, gas-guzzling vehicles available, Public Citizen said in a press release on Tuesday.
Car dealers across America for quite some time now have been using the tax loophole to promote the purchase of large SUVs (those weighing over 6,000 lbs).
The $100,000 tax deduction was originally designed to help small farmers and construction workers offset the cost of purchasing new expensive equipment, like tractors or large trucks.
Inside a 631-page bill, which is now headed to a House/Senate conference committee, is a provision that would extend to the end of 2007 the existing $100,000 tax break for businesses that purchase SUVs or other passenger trucks over 6,000 pounds. The tax break had been set to expire at the end of 2005.
“This giveaway costs the federal government between $840 million and $987 million annually, making it one of the biggest tax breaks, per capita, in the U.S. tax code,” Public Citizen said. “In all, this tax break will cost the government an estimated $1.4 billion for every 100,000 taxpayers who take advantage of the loophole.”.
(via Public Citizen)
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