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Ford Mostly Silent On US Tax Bill That Would Drop EV Tax Credits

Ford Motor Company doesn’t seem to mind that the federal tax credit for electrified-vehicle purchases are on the chopping block in a new tax bill put forth by members of the US House of Representatives. According to Bloomberg, Ford lobbyist Ziad Ojakli wrote a letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, the bill’s primary writer, thanking him for his efforts to cut the corporate tax rate, without ever mentioning the proposed termination of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

Granted, Ford is not alone; countless other automakers have declined to weigh in, and so far, only General Motors has publicly said that it would lobby to try and preserve the EV incentive. Bloomberg chalks this up to automakers not caring much about losing sales in such a small segment when the rest of the bill could bolster their profitability tremendously.

According to a recent research note from UBS Securities analyst Colin Langan, the overall effect of lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent, along with a few other elements of the House tax bill, would be a 19-percent boost to Ford’s 2016 per-share earnings. The impact of losing the EV credit would be comparatively small; according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Ford sold roughly 25k PHEVs and BEVs combined last year, which is less than one percent of its 2.6 million total automobile sales.

Ford has commented on the matter, with a company spokesperson saying: “Our focus in tax reform is on key elements that will help put American companies on a level playing field globally. We will continue to promote electrification through other policy initiatives.”

Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.

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