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you’re about to lose $1,575 of that credit

I’m not sure what you’re definition of a tax break is, but mine would contain credits in it.

As an aside, I don’t personally see the credit as being meant to encourage energy savings. I view it as encouraging energy efficiency research. But I can see how you could see it that way, and that may even be the rationale those championing it present.

And pulling out Quinn‘s laws as if he’s an authority on anything outside of oh-so-important realm of conservative talk radio? Geez, why don’t I scrape up some equally pointless Al Franken tripe (though I wouldn’t have a clue what his thoughts would be since I don’t listen to that crap either)? This conservative/liberal circle jerk blather drives me batty…

One the first front, the “hybrid vehicle tax break” is not a “tax break” in the traditional sense at all. It is a “tax credit“, which is just a nice way of saying that it is a government subsidy. The irony is that this subsidy rewards you for buying a vehicle with a questionable energy savings while stating that it’s purpose is to encourage energy savings. Quinn’s First Law in action.

On the second front, a tax break is nothing more than letting that someone or some entity keep their own money. I doubt you would consider a hypothetical case involving a robber who decides not to target your house as “assisting” you. “Assistance” implies a connotation of someone or some entity helping another. A robber who decides not to rob your house isn’t giving you “assistance” anymore than a government who doesn’t tax you.

I think that it time to wean these hybrid vehicle tax subsidy recievers from the government teat. But maybe that’s just me…