Source: Land Line Magazine
An effort underway at the Ohio statehouse would provide tax breaks for people who use compressed natural gas in personal and commercial vehicles.
Sponsored by Reps. Sen. O’Brien, D-Hubbard, and Dave Hall, R-Millersburg, the bill would create tax incentives for buying or converting vehicles to compressed natural gas. The bipartisan plan, which includes 61 co-sponsors, would also offer a sales tax reduction up to $500 for buying electric vehicles.
Rep. Dave Hall, R-Millersburg, said that the change is needed to help Ohio keep pace with its neighbors in the alternative fuels market.
“We aren’t fully harnessing the potential of natural gas after it has been developed,” Hall said in a news release.
The incentives would be funded by existing oil and gas taxes in the state.
Also included in the bill is a five-year phase-in for a motor fuel tax on alternative fuels that is comparable to the 28-cent-per-gallon tax on gas and diesel.
Hall said the natural gas available in the state gives Ohio “an enormous opportunity.”
“Not only does developing shale create jobs, but we can also use the captured natural gas to heat our homes and power our factories, cars and trucks.”
The bill – HB336 – is in the House Finance and Appropriations Committee. The Ohio General Assembly is nearing the end of the first year of a two-year session.