The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, passed the Senate on Aug. 9, 2022. Inside the $430 billion bill promoting deficit reduction and climate change, is an increase in your gas taxes.

With gas averaging more than $4.00 per gallon across the country, and only weeks removed from record-high prices of $5.00 a gallon, this act includes a 16.4 cents-per-barrel tax on crude oil and imported petroleum products that will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher gas prices.

PETROLEUM VITAL WORLDWIDE

The tax hike will affect you — even if you own an EV. Everything we buy will get more expensive. Petroleum is used for a massive percentage of all production in the world, regardless of industry. Plus moving all those products in diesel-powered trucks, planes, and boats will become more expensive. That cost increase will be passed on to you.

For those of you who own electric cars, the energy industry is going to get a $1.2 billion coal tax, which will be passed down to all consumers in electricity fees as well. The bill would more than double current excise taxes on coal production.

Automakers are saying that this Senate bill will jeopardize 2030 EV targets. Unfortunately, the EV tax credit requirements will make most vehicles immediately ineligible for the incentive.

A group representing General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, and other major automakers said a $430 billion bill approved Sunday by the U.S. Senate will put achieving U.S. electric-vehicle adoption targets for 2030 in jeopardy.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation's chief executive, John Bozzella, added that the bill "will also jeopardize our collective target of 40-50% electric vehicle sales by 2030."

ELIMINATES $7,000 EV TAX CREDIT

Here are the facts. The group had warned Friday that most EV models would not qualify for a $7,500 tax credit for U.S. buyers under the bill. To be eligible for the credit, vehicles must be assembled in North America, which would make some current electric vehicles ineligible as soon as the bill takes effect.

The Senate bill imposes other restrictions to deter automakers from using Chinese-made materials by phasing in required percentages of North American-sourced battery components. After 2023, vehicles with batteries that have Chinese components could not receive the credit, while critical minerals also face limitations on sourcing.

The issue is that the seven rare earth minerals are not mined in North America. While plentiful, they damage the environment. These include: cadmium, cobalt, lead, mercury, lithium, nickel, and neodymium. The U.S. is almost totally reliant on China for rare earth metals, as the mining of these mineral is dangerous and hazardous to the environment.

The U.S. Congress passed new EV tax credits, which would expire in 2032 and would be limited to trucks, vans and SUVs priced no more than $80,000 and cars up to $55,000. Families with adjusted gross incomes of up to $300,000 would be eligible.

The bill creates a $4,000 tax credit for used EVs. The package provides billions in new funding for EV production as well as $3 billion for the U.S. Postal Service to buy EVs and battery-charging equipment. Although the used car market is inflated these days, an electric vehicle typically depreciates at a faster rate than a gasoline equivalent, and battery life issues can lead to a large battery replacement bill.

This does not help working class families! The new taxes on gas and electricity will cost every driver about $2,400 more per year, every year.

THE BOTTOM LINE

As with most legislation, the long-term effects of the Inflation Reduction Act are not known.

However, this reaction has already happened: The US Congress passed new $7,500 tax credit for electric cars, including pickup trucks. The next day Ford increased the price of F-150 Lightning by $8,000. The US taxpayer should expect prices to increase to cover the new taxes going forward.

There is so much more to discuss on this, put your comments below and let’s start the conversation.

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Lauren Fix, The Car Coach, is a nationally recognized automotive expert, media guest, journalist, author, keynote speaker and television host. A trusted car expert, Lauren provides an insider’s perspective on a wide range of automotive topics and safety issues for both the auto industry and consumers. Her analysis is honest and straightforward.

Lauren is the National Automotive Correspondent for Newsmax TV, a conservative news net carried in 23 countries and in over 35 million U.S. cable/satellite homes. She is also The Weather Channel and Inside Edition’s auto expert. Lauren Fix serves as a juror for the esteemed North American Car & Truck of the Year Awards (NACTOY).

Lauren is The Car Coach columnist for Parade Magazine and eBay Motors and writes a weekly column. She also appears weekly on USA Radio’s DayBreak USA.
Lauren is the president and founder of Automotive Aspects, Inc., a consulting firm with a wide range of multi-media services, including media consulting, broadcast messaging strategy, public relations and television production.

Lauren is the author of three books: most recently, Lauren Fix’s Guide To Loving Your Car with St. Martins Press, Driving Ambitions: A Complete Guide to Amateur Auto Racing, and The Performance Tire and Wheel Handbook.

Lauren’s broadcast experience includes Oprah, Live! With Regis and Kelly, The View, TODAY, 20/20, The Early Show, CNN, FOX News, FOX Business, MSNBC, HLN, TBS Makeover and a Movie, Inside Edition, ESPN, TBS, Discovery, Speed and NPR, to name a few. Lauren previously hosted four seasons of Talk 2 DIY Automotive on the Do-It-Yourself Network (DIY), was the National Automotive Correspondent for Time Warner Cable and hosted Female Driven on Lifetime TV.

Lauren’s articles and advice have appeared in USA Today, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, eBay, Woman’s World, Esquire, First for Women, InTouch and Self. She has also contributed content to Motor Trend, Truck Trend, Hot Rod, Car Craft and many other automotive publications.

Lauren is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Society of Automotive Analysts (SAA) and is an ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certified technician. She inherited her love of all things automotive from her father, who owned a brake remanufacturing business and worked for many U.S. manufacturers. Lauren has been fixing, restoring and racing cars since the age of ten. She has been advising drivers almost all her life.

In addition to being a leader in positive consumer awareness and the automotive industry, Lauren is often asked to speak to groups around the world about her success in marketing, motivation, entrepreneurship, parenting and other lifestyle topics.

Lauren was named the 2015 WIN Award, 2013 SEMA Business Network “Mentor of The Year”; SEMA Business Network 2012 Woman of the Year; and awarded various Car Care Council “Automotive Communications Awards” in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Past awards include 2008 Automotive Woman of The Year and 2010 Woman of Distinction – Entrepreneur winner. Lauren Fix was inducted into the National Women and Transportation Hall of Fame in 2009 – a very high honor for a hard working automotive professional.