Tax Breaks For Hummer Buyers

Poor soul:

"But to Dave Bresnahan, the Hummer is much more than just a vehicle. In the eyes of his three sons, buying the "sunrise" orange Hummer for $55,000 made him the hippest dad in the Valley.
"I bought it mostly because my boys think it's cool, and I'm a boy who thinks it's cool, too," said Bresnahan, 42. "It's awesome. I feel like a king."

He'll have to do more than feel like a king at the gas pump, when he forks over $$$ for a fill-up.

he feels like king....so I wonder what oil producing country this shallow idiot is going to be taking charge of so he can gas up his SUV that will never be used for anything more than picking up lumber at home depot or the kids from soccer practice.....

I own alot of stuff. I tend to be somewhat materialistic. My New Years resolution is to not be so materialistic and be happy with what I have (daughter/wife/house) This guy is a perfect example of a cockroach or a virus. He consumes and consumes and consumes and then moves on to consume something else when the next bigger and better "thing" comes along...

My daughter thinks I'm cool because I play with her and take her to the museum...This guys a waste of human flesh.

Hummers do have their purpose, even in civilian life. In particular, they make excellent small rescue vehicles, as they can go many places where the larger vehicles cannot, but also many places which most other vehicles of their size cannot.. Those who buy them explicitly for that purpose (this would probably have to be restricted to emergency services such as police/fire departments and hospitals) should get a break for it, for precisely that reason. It's called getting the best tool for the job.

But as personal vehicles? That's just stupid. Hummers are ugly anyway. Especially that godawful pencil-yellow one.

Actually, the H2 (which is what I'll assume the person bought) is a dressed up Tahoe/Yukon.

It has no real advantage as a rescue vehicle over the Tahoe or Yukon, except for it's seating arrangement, low overhangs of body at front and rear, and it's seven inches longer than the Tahoe, so it's a little more stable at speed.

The HUMMVEE Hummer (H1) has fully independant suspension at all four wheels with ground clearance high enough to drive a go cart under. It's axles have constant-velocity joints at the wheel and differential, so the range of motion there is huge.



The H2 is less so, it has an independant front torsion bar setup, and rear solid axle five-link suspension. for five-link, see here http://world.honda.com/news/1997/t970702b.html

The H2 is a fine truck, and probably mildly better suited to rescue than the Tahoe, but it is no H1 Hummvee.

Love the Hummer, would buy one if I ever win the lottery.

Tax break for personal use Hummers = wrong. As previously mentioned, if emergency services bought them, would agree with a small break.

To buy a car because your kids will think you are cool is totally stupid. So, if it breaks down, you're an idiot again?

Exactly; that guy obviously has a very small penis, and needs to display to the world that he's cool! How sad!

This isn't a tax break to buy a Hummer. It's a tax break for business owners to invest in trucks that weigh more than 6,000 pounds. The fact that a hummer fits into that category is coincidental.

Chris

The tax break is not for personal use - it's for businesses. And it's not just for Hummers. It's any vehicle classified as a truck (as determined by weight).
Businesses could always write off truck purchases. The difference this year is that the tax break allows a business to write it off all at once, instead of spreading it out over multiple years. And if a business doesn't have a significant profit that places it in the highest tax bracket, the tax break will not help them.

Wow, pretty harsh words. I think you just described the majority of people on this planet. Why is this guy less of a human than you or I because he bought something that makes him happy? Even if its something that a lot of us on this forum dislike. I really despise SUVs (although I would love a H1...along with a nice vacation home in Sedona, AZ), but unless you've never owned anything but an econobox, a hybrid, or only use public transportation - you're a hypocrite.

Yeah, I realize that. But how many of those "business" write-offs were legit?

The all were, of course. The government doesn't care what you use the thing for, you just need a business and a truck over 6,000 pounds.

The IRS monitors tax returns for compliance, and penalizes those who cheat. If you really think it's easy to cheat on a $50,000 purchase, get your own Hummer, deduct it, and see what the IRS says.

wow...thats pretty pathetic.

I paid for a few Hummers and never received a Tax break

I think tax breaks for anything is an endorsement by the government.

And I do NOT think the government should be endorsing anything.

It is unfair to the businesses that produce something that doesn't have tax breaks on them.

But you better believe that I take advantage of every single tax deduction they offer me.

The justification for business deductions is that if you don't allow them, you don't have an income tax. The reason is that income does not include necessary expenses needed to earn that income. For a business, those necessary expenses include equipment needed to run the business -- including vehicles. Such equipement is generally deducted over the life of the equipment. This is depreciation.

The tax break aspect is allowing depreciation faster than the rate at which the equipement wears out. Congress has generally allowed depreciation faster than economic depreciation (the rate at which equipment loses market value). The reason is Congress wants to encourage businesses to invest in equipment because that equipment is built and sold by other busnesses. The idea is it's good for the economy overall.

Allowing a one year deduction is obviously quite a benefit. But vehicles in general are depreciable in only 5 years, unless they are used in construction, etc. In that case, the business would have to capitalize the vehicle expense. That means add the cost of the vehicle to the asset being constructed. The vehicle is then depreciated as part of the item being constructed (a building or power plant, for example). Since a Hummer would be a suitable vehicle for companies doing the kinds of things that might require capitalization, I imagine some Hummer sales would not be eligible for this deduction.

"Over 8600-lb gross vehicle weight exempts H2 from EPA mileage-reporting program, but our test H2 averaged just 10.7 mpg, even with mostly highway driving. Uses regular-grade fuel."

http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/...fm/id/23025.htm

10.7 mpg is what I believe to be disgusting IMHO for transporting children and looking cool. I do own one econobox and a wrx. 24mpg on the wrx. not great, but still a fun car. Wife drives the cavalier (which is older) I don't track the mileage, but she grandma drives alot of the time...has to be at least 27-30 mpg. We recycle everything in our house. I have a kid who will be inheriting our place in the world someday. I do whatever I can to make it someplace worth inheriting.

As I've stated in previous threads, there is a place for these vehicles, just not behind me on the way to work. Transporting kids to soccer (unless you have 10 kids) and looking cool in my opinion is just down right wasteful...again IMHO.

"I get Hummers for free all the time...what's the big deal?"

Love,
-Ca$h

You'll get yourself banned man