Let the wealthy ride e-bikes
There’s evidence that the beneficiaries of federal electric vehicle tax credits are wealthier taxpayers with more discretionary income to purchase what is often a second vehicle. The top fifth of households have received more than 80% of all federal EV tax credits, and the top 5% a staggering half of all credits.
It’s the same scenario with Minnesota’s e-bike tax rebate, though perhaps to a lesser degree. The Minnesota Reformer reports more than two out of five Minnesotans who received the rebate made more than $100,000 in income per year. About half earned more than $80,000 in income. However, 37% of the 1,500 Minnesotans who received the rebate are low-income.
To be clear: Anyone who wants an e-bike should be free to purchase one for their full market price, though e-bikes have their own risks, including battery fires. No level of government should offset the cost of individual consumer choices (though I cannot blame any individual for taking up the government’s offer of free money).
The e-bike rebate covers between 50 and 75% of the value of an e-bike up to $1,500, and was a part of the 2023 transportation package. The law mandates that 40% of recipients be earning less than $41,000 annually or $78,000 adjusted gross income if filing jointly. The rollout of the rebate’s website crashed and burned “on day one” and after reopening a month later, 14,000 applied.
The Reformer article continues:
Cycling advocates such as the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota are calling for more money for the program, as well as changes to better serve low-income people…
The 67-67 evenly divided Minnesota House gives Republicans virtual veto power over programs they don’t like, e-bike rebates among them. And, the state’s budget forecast shows a rapid decline in surplus, quickly becoming a deficit in the billions in future budget years.
E-bikes have grown in popularity in recent years: Lots of new, affordable models with more powerful batteries that can go longer distances have come on the market.
Popular or not, it’s not the place for the government to decide. Subsidizing e-bikes is “largely another form of funneling taxpayer dollars into political pet projects for liberal lawmakers who had total control of a record budget surplus.” That budget surplus is not going to stick around for long, and lawmakers will have to decide if the disastrous e-bike rollout — and funneling even more funding into it — should take precedence over more pressing needs.