Automotive Stimulus Plan - Tax Break for Consumers Buying a Vehicle

[Jeff Kershner]

Automotive Stimulus Plan would give a TAX break to consumers buying a passenger vehicle (car, truck, SUV) between November 12th and December 31st of 2009

Senator Barbara Mikulski delivers a press release outlining her Automotive Stimulus Plan to be introduced to legislation when the Senate reconvenes next week. The plan will help save American jobs, help American consumers and support America’s automobile industry. Her announcement comes just days after the Department of Labor reported that the nation’s unemployment rate has hit a 14-year high as the economy continues to worsen.

"If you buy a passenger car, truck, SUV or Mini van between November 12th and December 31st of 2009. you will get a tax deduction on your sales tax and on the interest of your car loan."

Example:
If a consumer were to passenger vehicle priced $23,600 sold in Maryland with a 6% sales tax and financed with a 5 year loan at a 7% interest rate, the total savings would be $1,757. The interest paid on the loan will be deductible annually throughout the loan term, similar to mortgage interest paid, while the full sales tax will be available for deduction in the year of the vehicle’s purchase.

Please take a few moments and read the full press release here or here and watch the video above.

This a trying time in the auto industry. I ask that you take a moment and use your strength as a leader within our industry and leverage that strength for this amendment to pass. In essence, it will create a tax advantage to our customers and give them confidence that now is a great time to buy a car. No matter what side of the fence you are on, this would be a good thing. If you can, pass your encouraging words onto your local lawmakers as well as your employees, blog about it, write about it, etc. It would help all of us!

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[Matt Watson (blog)]

If I follow this correctly, I think this would all but kill leasing.

 

[Stanley]

Oh gee, if they would only hand out vouchers to pay for the gas I might be game!This past year the exorbitant cost of gas has seriously damaged our economy and society.Families struggled just to fill their vehicles up at the pump to tend to the bare necessities of life. Manafacturers passed on higher operating and shipping costs to consumers resulting in higher prices on every product imaginable. Most all electric companies asked for and were granted a record rate increase that further taxed the american family.Grocries went through the roof and many products not only cost more now they come in smaller packages. By the time we got done filling up the car and buying groceries most families had little left over to spend on so called extra's , save or invest. In fact most had to dip into their savings just to get by as of late.So, we in turn cut back, cut out the extra's maybe the cable, eating out, movies, going longer between hair cuts, some have even stopped taking necessary medicine because they can no longer afford it. We drive less, OPEC cuts production, we drive even less, they vow to cut more to jack the prices back up.(and they will) Our counrty spent 168 BILLION dollars on a economic stimulus package that did NOTHING for our economy. That would have gone a LONG way towards getting our nation started on the road to energy independence. We have so much available to us in the way of FREE ENERGY such as wind and solar. Electric plug in cars would cost the equivalent of 60 cents a gallon to drive. 168 BILLION would have gone a long way toward making that technology more affordable to the average Joe. Jeff Wilson has the best book ever called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW. If you are worried about our economy and want to see our nation become energy independent I highly recommend this book.
www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com

 

[Richard (blog)]

What we need first is for banks to start lending money again.

 

[Brett]

Its a awesome idea! I work in the automotive industry and the times are really hard! I wish that we had this in Michigan to get the industry back on its feet. At my current job, layoff’s have become a daily event. Its is really scary for the younger generations in this particular industry.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

@Richard - Banks are lending for auto loans. The media has consumers thinking otherwise.

@Brett - This is not exclusive for Maryland only. This would be a nation wide government supported Stimulus Plan.

 

[Ryan G]

This is a nice gesture, but it will be like medicine and only make some people feel better. How about also addressing one of the core dilemmas of the US auto industry along with it - UNIONS.

Let's shift jobs to Domestic Energy and re-vitalize our workforce. Put some legs behind the bill.

Coincidentally, I am in a Jeep lease that expires in March 2009 but plan to begin researching Chrysler dealers in my area about purchasing right away because Chrysler Financial requires I go through a dealer. Seems to make more sense buying it now rather than living out the lease and buying some other vehicle.

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

Yep Ryan - the big three are more hurt by unions than anything else. They cannot compete efficiently while the unions are pulling strings. If anything, this down-turn could dispense the unions. I fear something more drastic will have to happen first.

I heard on the news that Japan is now in recession and the news is claiming the American auto industry is the cause - how friggin' warped is that report!!!!???? It does feel like the media is gunning for the automotive industry. I'm almost getting to a point where we might want to ask our government to forget stimulus packages and just put a muzzle over some of these reporters.

 

[Ryan G]

Well yeh stimulus packages are really just that aren't they - a stimulus. They do not address the core issues. If bills designed to address the core issues are not passed in conjunction with these then the stimulus packages are probably in vein.

Disturbingly, I saw on the news today that the average union worker pay in the auto industry was a hair under $30k. I was surprised by this and suffice to say it makes the unions that much less beneficial in my eyes. What a shame.

 

[Dan F]

Well Alex you mean to say the US three. The real Big Three no longer includes Chrysler and Ford. It is the US three that are hurt via the unions. Japan like the rest of the world is in a recession. As business goes global one broken cog effects the whole machine. When the Japanise automakers first came to the US market in the 60s, 70s, and early 80s they made ALL there cars in Japan. As the Japanise automakers produce more cars and trucks in america they take jobs away from Japanise workers in Japan.

Be mad at the unions for forcing the US three to go to Mexico and China for cheap labor but do not blame Japan. The tax payers of this great country begged the Japanise to make cars here and they did at the risk of hurting their own economy.

I have been in Detoit dealerships my whole life and it is always the same story: blame someone else.