Outrageous or no, the tax structure in Norway is vastly different from some places, such as the United States. Electric vehicle tax incentives, such as those on the Tesla Model S, in Norway are nothing AT ALL like those in the United States.
For example, if you want to buy a maxxed out Tesla Model S P85+ , worth about $120,000 ($133,820 if you drop the federal incentive and tick absolutely every available option) the IRS will give you back a measly $7,500, and some states might give you up to $7,500, depending on where you live. This would total a possible $15,000 tax break if you buy a new electric vehicle, bringing the Tesla Model S P85+ down to about $105,000. That’s nothing compared to the tax breaks you get in Norway!
In Norway, where the standard of living is higher, and the Tesla Model S goes for about $130,000. At the same time, the tax breaks for the car amount to around $134,000, which is more than the car sells for! The key is in the fact that Norway’s new vehicle tax structure is based on emissions. Big cars with big engines may be cheaper, but you’ll pay more in taxes for their emissions. On the other hand, Norway will actually give you major tax breaks, essentially paying the buyer, on electric vehicles, which has made them a national best-seller.
Aside from the tax incentives, which basically pay for the car, Norwegian Tesla Model S buyers are exempt from registration fees, HOV lane restrictions, and ferry tolls. It’s really no wonder that the Tesla Model S has become the best-selling vehicle in Norway. Just to be clear, I meant to write “best-selling vehicle,” not simply “best-selling green vehicle.” If the United States wants to help people to adopt electric vehicles, such as the 45 million households that could make the switch without any problems, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and DOT (Department of Transportation) could learn a LOT from Norway.
Image © Zero Emission Resource Organisation / Foter.com / CC BY
Norway doesn’t pay you anything to buy a Tesla. Those tax “breaks” are merely taxes that aren’t added to the retail price in the first place.
Non-electric cars in Norway have “environment” taxes that equal approximately 120% of the cost of the car. In other words, new cars in Norway (and Denmark, I believe) are over twice as expensive as new cars anywhere else in the world.