Senator pushes e-vehicle tax incentive bill

To address the unbridled oil price increases and prevent strikes in public transport, Sen. Ralph Recto said his committee will report out next week a consolidated measure that would roll out tax incentives for electronic vehicles in the country, including hybrid and other motor vehicles using alternative fuel. Electric vehicle refers to any vehicle that uses electric motors; Hybrid Vehicle (HV) will refer to any vehicle that combines the technologies of using internal combustion engine (ICE) with a battery-powered electric motor while other Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) would be any vehicle using alternative sources of energy. AFV proponents will be exempt from paying excise taxes and VAT for nine years to bring down the cost of importing and converting e-vehicles and their hybrid types, which should result to lower sticker price or dealer’s price for consumers. The draft committee report on the consolidated measure likewise provides other “incentives" to the developing e-motor vehicle industry such as exemption from the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge and from color/number’s coding to ensure all-week driving. “Non-tax" incentives include special priority lane for e-vehicle owners and operators when registering or renewing e-vehicles with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and mandatory provision of parking facilities in every future commercial and public establishments. Also under the proposed measure now being finalized for plenary approval, the LTO would issue special license plates to e-vehicle types while business owners would be encouraged to provide especially designated parking areas for AFV units. — Newsbytes.ph