Telecommuting to save gas
June 4, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
As gas prices rise, so does an interest in telecommuting. In fact, today on the way in to work I listened to a story about how the Federal Government was going to give employees an incentive to work from home. I heard the story quickly and didn’t get all the details. Does anyone else know about this story?
Just imagine how much money we would save if more people worked from home! Of course, I don’t know what that would do for family life. I worked from home for many years but as my older son became a teenager it was hard to keep him out of my designated office. Working from home has its pluses and minuses, but in terms of helping out the wallet there could be a big savings for you! The big question is how willing would employers be to have their folks work from home? Here’s a thought- what about tax incentives given to companies who let some of their employees work from home? There’s an idea! What do you think?
Other related stories here:
Articles about telecommuting trends:
|
Telecommuting Trends - Hush - don’t tell my boss, but it is 10.30 Monday morning and I am on my exercise bike watching TV - Gerri Willis of CNN talks about telecommuting. I remember Verizon pitching telecommuting to clients as a buffer against… PeopleCube CEO Featured Speaker at NeoCon World’s Trade Fair 2008 - I will also discuss the trend toward office hoteling and how organizations are using it to reduce real estate and energy costs, increase workspace utilization and flexibility, support the mobile workforce, and facilitate telecommuting … |
Summer gas tax holiday?
June 1, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
A federal gas-tax holiday for the summer as proposed by John McCain and Hillary Clinton sounds like one of the gimmicks used by desperate politicians at election time. It’s almost a reminder of the past when one politician who was running for the highest office in the country failed to respond to a simple question about the cost of a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk. How much of an impact is a gas tax holiday going to have on one’s pocket, when a gallon of gas is close to $4? In addition, there is no “holiday” promised on other financial obligations. This is an insensitive, arrogant and expedient gesture. Dancing around the real issues and coming up with ploys to appease the public is what politicians are good at.
What is your opinion about the summer gas tax holiday?
Summary of article from South Jersey Courier Post Online: Click for complete article
Limited expert support for gas tax holiday
June 1, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
Experts have been critical of Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s proposal to institute a gas tax holiday this summer. And Jonathan Alter of Newsweek piled on: “Hillary Clinton has now joined John McCain in proposing the most irresponsible policy idea of the year — an idea that actually could aid the terrorists.”- Surely, however, there must be someone out there not associated with a politician or a candidate who supported the idea of a gas tax reprieve — especially if, as Clinton suggests, it would be paid for by an excess profits tax on oil companies.
In the end, every single analyst I surveyed judged the gas tax holiday proposal to be, roughly speaking, a silly, superfluous, or outright pandering idea. “What would happen more likely than not, gas taxes would be cut, but pump prices wouldn’t go down, service stations would just continue charging what they are charging,” he said. “I’m a Libertarian and I don’t mind that. But you might not be a Libertarian and you might believe the federal treasury needs that money… “I think it is close to political pandering,” said Max Schulz, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. “It is bad policy and political gimmickry. You have to address what is driving the price of crude oil, even problems with the weak dollar. That would make sense,” he said, “but if you remove the tax now, the things being funded with the money will still need funds. He went on: “All of these candidates claim to be environmentally conscious people, so what do they want to do? Bob Sussman, an energy analyst with the Center for American Progress, and, for full disclosure, a supporter of Barack Obama, saw little benefit or popularity to either Clinton or McCain’s proposal.
“Rather than indiscriminately suspending the gas tax, if we have a revenue source here to help people in need, we out to target the money to people who really need it. And if you suspend the gas tax you are giving a small break to every body instead of a significant break to the people pinched by the high prices,” he said. To the extent that McCain and Snowe’s proposals use general revenue funds to offset the hit to the trust fund, that concern is addressed.
To read the full article, go to the the HuffingtonPost.com. Click here
Other related stories below:
|
Editorial: Is fuel tax holiday a good idea? - There is no denying gasoline prices have gone through the roof. In most states, $4 per gallon is the minimum. Cheney shoots down the “gas tax holiday” - John McCain has really been championing this idea of a “gas tax holiday” for a while now, and the current Vice President is shooting it down. Odd that the sitting veep would so publicly go against the candidate from his own party. … Mankiw vs. DeLong on McCain’s Corporate Tax Cut Proposal: Not Such … - It started with Greg’s Sunday column in the NY Times, where he first jests about McCain’s idea for a gas tax holiday, but then praises the …bigger idea that Mr. McCain and his economic team have put forward: a cut in the corporate tax … Gas Tax Freeze Eases Pain at the Pump - … the state’s ability to complete road construction and maintenance, the two chief recipients of gas tax revenues. Republican legislators in Michigan are pursuing a similar form of a gas tax holiday. For more information, click here. … Tax incidence - Tax incidence is the theory of who actually pays a tax. Let us consider the case of the gas tax holiday proposed by John McCain and supported by Hillary Clinton in the US. By announcing that there would be reduced tax on petrol over … Talleyrand and the gas tax holiday - I’m on record as saying that Hillary Clinton’s advocacy of a gas-tax holiday, while it wasn’t good policy, didn’t rise to the level of a crime. Judging from last night’s results, however, it was worse than a crime: it was a mistake. … Electeds Go to the Mat for Cheap Gas - In Albany, Senate Republicans have adopted the state gas tax “holiday” as their issue of the moment. Since the largely-ridiculed measure is going nowhere in the Assembly, Joe Bruno and colleagues can circulate petitions and distribute … |
How to claim fuel efficient tax credits
June 1, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
Updated frequently — last updated Dec. 11, 2007
Vehicles Purchased or Placed in Service
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 replaced the clean-fuel burning deduction with a tax credit. A tax credit is subtracted directly from the total amount of federal tax owed, thus reducing or even eliminating the taxpayer’s tax obligation. The tax credit for hybrid vehicles applies to vehicles purchased or placed in service on or after January 1, 2006.
The credit is only available to the original purchaser of a new, qualifying vehicle. If a qualifying vehicle is leased to a consumer, the leasing company may claim the credit.
Hybrid vehicles have drive trains powered by both an internal combustion engine and a rechargeable battery. Many currently available hybrid vehicles may qualify for the tax credit.
These models have been certified for the credit in the following amounts:
† This reflects a decrease in the credit amount as of Oct. 1, 2006, due to the manufacturers meeting quarterly sales of 60,000 qualified hybrid cars — See Quarterly Sales, below.
†† This credit amount does not phase out. The full amount of the altenative fuel vehicle credit would be available for vehicles purchased on or before December 31, 2010.
Qualifed Cars and Credit Amounts
Quarterly Sales
Consumers seeking the credit may want to buy early since the full credit is only available for a limited time. Taxpayers may claim the full amount of the allowable credit up to the end of the first calendar quarter after the quarter in which the manufacturer records its sale of the 60,000th hybrid or advance lean burn technology. For the second and third calendar quarters after the quarter in which the 60,000th vehicle is sold, taxpayers may claim 50 percent of the credit. For the fourth and fifth calendar quarters, taxpayers may claim 25 percent of the credit. No credit is allowed after the fifth quarter.
For example, F Company is a manufacturer of hybrid motor vehicles, but not advanced lean burn technology motor vehicles. F Company sells its 60,000th hybrid car on March 31, 2006.
- Ms. Smith buys an F Company hybrid car on June 30, 2006, and claims the full credit.
- Ms. Maple buys an F Company hybrid car on Dec. 31, 2006, and claims 50 percent of the credit.
- Mr. Grey buys an F Company hybrid car on June 30, 2007, and claims 25 percent of the credit.
- Mr. Green buys an F Company hybrid car on July 1, 2007, and is unable to claim the credit, because the credit has phased out for F Company vehicles.
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., has submitted quarterly reports indicating that its cumulative sales of qualified vehicles to retail dealiers has reached the 60,000-vehicle limit during the calendar quarter ending June 30, 2006. Effective Oct. 1, 2006, the tax credit amounts for certified Toyota models will be reduced. The models and allowable credits may be found in news releases IR-2006-145, Toyota Hybrids Begins Phaseout on October 1and IR-2006-154, Additional Toyota and Lexus Vehicles Certified for the Energy Tax Credit.
More detailed information may be found in the Summary of the Credit for Qualified Hybrid Vehicles
Vehicles Purchased or Placed in Service 2001 through 2005
In August 2002, the IRS announced that it had certified the first hybrid gas-electric automobile as eligible for the clean-burning fuel deduction, effective 2001. Federal law allowed individuals to claim a deduction for the incremental cost of buying a motor vehicle propelled by a clean-burning fuel. A tax deduction is subtracted from income, thus reducing the amount of adjusted gross income on which the taxpayer is taxed.
The deduction is only available to the original purchaser of a new, qualifying vehicle. If a qualifying vehicle is leased to a consumer, the leasing company may claim the credit.
Note: This information changes often. Click here to get the latest IRS info.
Tax incentives for fuel efficient hybrids
June 1, 2008 by Frank Girard · Leave a Comment
Did you know you can get tax incentives for purchasing fuel efficient hybrid automobiles?
Hybrids purchased or placed into service after December 31, 2005 may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $3,400.
Credit amounts begin to phase out for a given manufacturer once it has sold over 60,000 eligible vehicles.
Here’s the details:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: Internal Revenue Service. Updated January 17, 2008. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
