- The Transportation Freedom Act aims to “revitalize auto manufacturing” in America.
- It calls for auto workers to get a 200% tax deduction, although there are stipulations.
- The act also calls for rolling back regulations and establishing national standards.
Congress continues to roll out automotive-themed legislation and one of the latest is the Transportation Freedom Act, which has already gained support from a number of automakers. It aims to rollback regulations, while also giving auto workers some eye-catching benefits.
In a one pager published by Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, his office says the bill is a “pro-America, pro-worker solution to revitalize auto manufacturing and restore fairness in emissions regulations.” While it’s largely focused on the latter, one of the most talked about aspects is a 200% tax deduction for American auto workers.
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Digging deeper into the actual legislation, this part calls for amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to add a special section for wages paid to automobile manufacturing workers. It wants people engaged in the production of automobiles or automotive components to “be allowed a deduction equal to 200 percent of an amount equal to the total amount of eligible wages paid or incurred by such taxpayer during such taxable year.”
However, there are an assortment of stipulations such as a requirement that 75% of total production would need to be completed in the United States. There’s also an individual wage limit of $150,000 per taxable year.
As much fun as taxes are, let’s move on and focus on the regulation side of the act. It calls for repealing the EPA’s so-called Tailpipe Rule, which Moreno’s office says would “mandate that 67% of all new cars be electric by 2032, regardless of consumer demand or affordability.”
It also calls for eliminating “burdensome emissions rules for heavy-duty trucks” and ending “arbitrary CAFE fuel economy standards.” The latter would be “replaced with tough but achievable standards reflecting market ready technology and industry consultation.”
Furthermore, it would end California’s special status which enables them to set their own standards. Instead, there would be one national standard and this means one state wouldn’t have leverage over the rest of the country.
Longer term, it calls for “stable emissions and fuel economy standards from 2027-2035.” These promise to be affordable and feasible, “not government mandates disconnected from consumer demand.”
