Japanese carmaker Toyota urged a House committee to reject a “blatantly skewed proposal” that would extend tax credits to union-made electric vehicles.
In a letter to the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal
Richard Edmund NealHouse Democrats observe 26.5% corporate tax Democrats see the 5Q spending target fading. (D-Mass.) And member of the ranking Kevin Brady
Kevin Patrick Brady 20 Years Later: Washington Politicians Recall LIVE 9/11 COVERAGE: House Panel Launches Work on .5T Expenditure Package Democrats Reach Crisis to Approve Biden MORE agenda (R-Texas), Toyota said, while the company supported the mission to reduce carbon emissions and sell electric vehicles, believing the proposal to grant additional tax credits to union-made electric cars was discriminatory.
“Our common goal is simple: to reduce the amount of carbon that cars release into the atmosphere by putting more electric vehicles on the road. Although the proposed electric vehicle tax that you have before is moving towards this goal, it includes provisions that will discriminate against almost half of the country’s automatic workers and put the environment second on unrelated agendas, “they wrote in a statement from Toyota’s top US manufacturing facility officials.
On Friday, House Democrats presented a proposal to expand the tax credits for electric vehicles. Most electric vehicles would have a $ 7,500 tax credit. That, however, would rise to $ 12,500 if the cars are union-made, according to Reuters. Under the proposal, General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Stellantis NV, a parent company of Chrysler, would benefit from the proposal, as they employ union workers.
Tesla and foreign carmakers with facilities in the United States would be at a disadvantage. according to the media. Toyota and Honda have been opposed to the proposal, which the committee will vote on Tuesday.
Toyota argued in its letter to the committee that its benefits and compensation were “competitive” for other companies that employed union workers and that “an EV manufactured by auto workers who choose to unionize does not make this vehicle better for the environment “.
“The current draft of the Forms and Means Committee makes the goal of accelerating the deployment of electrified vehicles secondary to discriminating against American auto workers based on their choice not to unionize. That’s unfair, it’s wrong and we ask you to reject this blatantly biased proposal, ”Toyota officials said in their letter.
The car company also said the tax credit favored people who could already afford electric vehicles. Those earning an adjusted income of up to $ 400,000 would be eligible to receive the tax credit as proposed. A head of household earning up to $ 600,000 or up to $ 800,000 in the event of a joint return would also be eligible.
According to The Detroit News, there are price limits for electric vehicles eligible for the program.
“Given the competing social priorities, the“ Rebuild Better ”plan is planned to address, it makes sense to give a $ 12,500 tax credit to people who can afford to spend as much on a vehicle as some Americans spend on a home ? “
The Hill has contacted Neal’s office and Ways and Means Republicans to comment.
However, several environmental and union groups have supported the proposal, in addition to Ford, GM and Stellantis.
“The AFL-CIO wholeheartedly supports the union’s tax credit provisions for electric vehicles set by the Forms and Means Committee this week. An additional tax credit for EV’s gathered in a union store will support high standards for all automatic workers, “the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) said in a statement.
Katherine Garcia, acting director of Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, said in a statement that it was “disappointing to see automakers like Toyota and Honda pushing against this important incentive.”
“Building healthier communities requires advancing clean cars and family jobs in the U.S., because improving air quality, reducing climate emissions, and ensuring economic justice go hand in hand,” Garcia said in a communiqué.
“We urge Congress leaders to take charge of this moment to move forward, along with even greater investments in transforming our transportation systems,” he added later.