Under the budget proposal laid out by the White House on Thursday, Detroit automakers would be able to offer USD$4,500 more in tax credits to US electric car buyers than rivals such as Tesla Inc., Volkswagen Group, Honda Motor Co., and Toyota Motor Corp. under the USD$1.75 trillion tax and spending proposal.

The proposal calls for all automakers to be able to offer USD$7,500 to consumers for EV purchases for the first five years of the law. However, EVs made by American manufacturers, in the U.S., with union-represented workers would be allowed to offer an additional USD$4,500 in credits according to a draft text of the bill.

Used EV buyers would be eligible to receive USD$2,000 in tax credits.

The union provision is an “an insult to the 673,000 Americans who work in international nameplate manufacturing plants and dealerships,” Cody Lusk, president and CEO of American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA), said in a statement. The provision also “makes it more difficult for Americans to buy green vehicles, as it can only be applied to a handful of the more than 60 electric vehicles available for sale today.”

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President Joe Biden said the proposal, when paired with an infrastructure bill that has already passed the Senate and has funds for charging stations, will boost the growing market for electric vehicles.

“We’ll build out the first ever national network of 500,000 electrical vehicle charging stations all across the country so when you buy an electric vehicle — and you’ll get credit for buying for — you can go all the way across America on a single tank of gas, figuratively speaking,” Biden said in a televised address.

The EV proposal would also allow car buyers to receive an additional $500 for electric cars that are made with domestically-built batteries — something that would benefit Tesla buyers — according to the House draft.

Buyers would have the option of taking the credits against their income taxes or at the point of purchase. All the benefits, which are limited to cars under certain sticker prices and subject to income limits, would expire after Dec. 31, 2031.

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