US Sen. Sherrod Brown Introduces Bill Giving $3,500 Discounts on American-Made Car Purchases
The American Cars, American Jobs Act was proposed so more people buy American cars.
It seems reasonable to think that most people would prefer to buy a vehicle if it came with a $3,500 discount. Ohio’s senior U.S. senator Sherrod Brown thinks so, which is the reason behind his latest bill proposal. It’s called the American Cars, American Jobs Act.
Recently, Sen. Brown introduced a bill that would push Americans to buy American-made vehicles. The bill would give buyers an incentive to purchase a car made in the United States by giving them a $3,500 discount for doing so. Individuals who sign up for five-year leases would receive the discount as well.
Not every vehicle would qualify for the discount. The bill requires that at least 45 percent of the car’s parts come from the U.S. or Canada, and that the final assembly of the car happens in the U.S.
Brown’s office provided a list of almost 100 different vehicles that would qualify, which includes sedans, SUVs, sports cars, luxury cars, and more, according to CNET. Every vehicle made in Ohio made the list. A variety of manufacturers are also included on the list, such as Nissan, Volkswagen, Tesla, and Mercedes-Benz.
According to the bill, funding would come from taking away a tax break given to automakers. Foreign subsidiaries that are owned by companies in the U.S. are currently taxed at zero percent unless their profits are larger than 10 percent of the subsidiary’s value, reported CNET. If the profits exceed that value, then they are taxed 10.5 percent, which is exactly half of the full corporate tax rate.
The senator’s bill proposal includes changing the 10.5 percent tax rate to the full rate of 21 percent depending on certain criteria being met. He believes this will discourage automakers from taking their work overseas, thus improving the state of manufacturing in the U.S.
Currently, the bill is still just a proposal. There are many things that need to occur before the bill would become law, and is likely several months away from even being brought to the Senate for a vote consideration. The bill in its entirety can be found at the senator’s website.
