Minnesota Legislature Mulling New EV Tax Rebates

The Minnesota legislature recently put forward two new electric vehicle tax credit support bills — potentially offering buyers of plug-in vehicles a means of cutting the cost of ownership by several thousand dollars — according to recent reports.

One of the bills, HF 3513, would grant tax rebates of $2,500 for new all-electric vehicles (EVs), and $1,500 for new plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). The other bill, HF 2926, would grant a tax credit of up to $1,000 to buyers of electric vehicles, and to buyers of some renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

Minnesota flag

As far as HF 3513 goes, the funding for the tax rebate program would reportedly come from already existing solar energy incentive programs. The proposed rebates would expire in 2021, going by the current wording used. Notably, the bill would also require utility companies to develop public electric vehicle charging stations, which would further aid the rate of adoption.

The two bills — HF 3513 and HF 2926 — both have until the current legislative session ends (May 23) to make it through both houses.

State representative Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington — the lead sponsor of the measure in the House (and a Tesla Model S owner) — was recently quoted as saying: “It’s a win-win for everybody. Environmentalists get a lot less pollution and conservatives get less cost than the current program.”

As it stands, there are only around 3,500 plug-in vehicles on Minnesota’s roads — out of a total number of 4.6 million. So there’s certainly room for growth — which will no doubt pick up, regardless of incentives, as EV offerings continue to become more compelling.

(A hat tip to reader Joel Acker.)

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