Grassley, Schumer Back Forklift Fuel Cell Tax Credits

Senate Finance Committee ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., have teamed up to sponsor legislation that would provide tax credits for the use of hydrogen fuel cells in forklift trucks and other industrial vehicles.

“The attention given to alternative fuels is usually focused on the consumer market,” Grassley said in a statement. “Industrial use is another important area for encouraging alternative sources of fuel that are good for the environment and efficient to use. Forklift trucks are used all over the country, in all kinds of capacities. It makes sense to encourage the use of alternative fuels in warehouses, not just on roads.”

As written, the alternative motor vehicle credit currently offers a tax credit to fuel cell motor vehicles based on certain weight classifications. The new, pending legislation would expand the definition of “motor vehicle” to include certain commercial and industrial off-highway vehicles, such as forklift trucks, and would eliminate the reduction of the credit for fuel cell motor vehicles weighing less than 8,500 pounds.

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