I just talked to my tax guy today and learn something that blew my mind and also made me gnash my teeth.
You know all those giant pick-up trucks on the road and huge SUVs that people drive to pick up a quart of milk with?
Well, if the drivers are business owners, they are incentivized to buy the larger vehicles. Trucks with 6-foot beds, or full-size SUVs are 100% deductible, while smaller vehicles are not.
This just adds insult to injury to the fact that we are subsidizing fossil fuels to the tune of $11 million dollars a minute around the world.
@markmetz It’s also an incredibly common tax fraud. The vehicle should be only used for the business, but a lot of small business owners just use the “bonus depreciation” to get a personal car. My understanding is that this is an extremely “low risk” activity.
@dan@markmetz There was an earlier version of this in the US. In the early-mid-’70s, an owner of a trucking company could add a ‘fleet vehicle’ which cost the same as a new Mack or Peterbuilt model: a brand new Rolls Royce. The costs were all that was looked at usually.
Also, those huge, heavy Chevy Suburban / Lincoln models actually have large, heavy steel plating on the floors. It serves no purpose beyond making the GVW heavier and so is categorized as a vehicle that can pollute more.
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