Hacker News Reader

Comment by QuarterReptile | Hacker News Reader

They do tax cars based on weight (in the US). If your car weighs too little, it's a personal vehicle. If it's heavy enough to be "transportation equipment" (large SUV) you can get effective tax breaks by deducting its cost from your income to a much greater degree than for reasonable passenger vehicles[0].

[0]https://bradyware.com/business-vehicle-deductions-2020/ (not a primary source but it should give an idea.)

View on HN

For those surprised by this (as I was when I first heard about it), this is talking about Section 179, which allows someone to fully deduct the purchase price of heavyweight vehicles (e.g. a Ford F-150) if it’s used for business. These vehicles are also not subject to the pedestrian safety requirements that 3-box vehicles (sedans, etc) are in the US.

> of heavyweight vehicles (e.g. a Ford F-150)

I don't think a heavyweight vehicle has been built since the 1930s, when they started building lightweight vehicles. Today, if you see a passenger vehicle referred to as heavyweight that is likely due to a marketing spin on how well it performs or the load it can carry. Even in that sense, a Ford F-150 is marketed as a lightweight and F-250 is a medium.

150 from f150 refers to its carting and load capacity.. not its actual weight. the weight difference between a 150,250,350 is not a very significant one.

This issue is a 150 is being used outside its original use case. And dose the job a Corolla is intended for. But with twice the weight and size.

Thank you. I know what the 150 stands for. But, it is not a heavyweight vehicle. That term refers to a type of vehicle that hasn't been made since the 1920s-1930s.

The conversation I replied to was about deducting "the purchase price of heavyweight vehicles (e.g. a Ford F-150)". A Ford F-150 is not a heavyweight vehicle.

I think in the context of this discussion heavyweight is defined by Section 179 as having a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating greater than 6000 lbs. While the curb weight of a F150 is less, the GVWR is 6,010 to 7,150 lbs.

That makes sense. Thank you.

To add to that: light trucks imported from other countries are also subject to a 25% tariff known as the the "chicken tax"[1], and if I understand correctly, light trucks are subject to more stringent MPG standards to the point that auto manufacturers won't make them. Whether this latter is "environmental regulation gone too far" or just a matter of regulatory capture by an industry that doesn't want to compete in a market where small, cheap trucks are a thing that exists is a matter of interpretation, I suppose. I lean towards the regulatory capture interpretation myself.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

I don't think anyone can look at what F150 sales do for Ford and interpret it any other way...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com