By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Republicans late Friday released a revised tax and budget bill that would end the $7,500 tax credit on new electric vehicle sales and leases on September 30 as well as the $4,000 tax credit for used EVs.
The prior version would have ended the credit for new sales 180 days after the bill was signed into law, 90 days for used vehicles and immediately ended the credit for leased vehicles not assembled in North America and meeting other requirements.
Republicans have taken aim at EVs on a number of fronts, a reversal from former President Joe Biden’s policy that encouraged electric vehicles and renewable energy to fight climate change and reduce emissions.
The House of Representatives version would allow the $7,500 new-EV tax credit to continue through the end of 2025, and through the end of 2026 for automakers that have not yet sold 200,000 EVs before killing it.
The Senate bill also includes a provision to eliminate fines for failing to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules in a move aimed at making it easier for automakers to build gas-powered vehicles.
The Republican bill exempts interest paid on auto loans from taxes for new cars made in the U.S. through 2028, but phases it out for individual taxpayers making more than $100,000 annually.
Senate Republicans dropped a bid to force the U.S. Postal Service to scrap thousands of electric vehicles and charging equipment in the bill following a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian.
The U.S. Postal Service has 7,200 electric vehicles, made up of Ford e-Transit and specially built Next Generation Delivery Vehicles built by Oshkosh Defense and warned scrapping its EVs would cost it $1.5 billion.
President Donald Trump this month signed a resolution approved by Congress to bar California’s landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035, which has been adopted by 11 other states representing a third of the U.S. auto market.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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