Happy new tax break?

Happy new year everyone!

Especially if you're prospective hybrid car buyer in the US or a small house owner in Sweden. Because then you can profit from tax breaks you never  asked for from the very beginning.

In the US you now can get a +$3,000 tax break if you buy the right hybrid car. In Sweden every new heating system, from heat pump to wood pellets stove, will lower your taxes (even if the exact amounts still are not in place).

The funny (or the sad) thing is the tax break's contribution so far is less sales. In November the US hybrid sales dropped for the very first time. And manufacturers of heating equipment in Sweden report on much lower sales during the fall.

And still, the underlying demand is sky high:

Tax incentives may not matter much to drivers anyway. Hybrid dealers report long waiting lists and fast-selling cars, regardless of whether people will qualify for the 2005 or 2006 tax breaks. Ahmad Rabiei, a Honda salesman in Gardena, Calif., said he has a list of 20 people waiting for hybrid Civics.
"If the car is available they get it as soon as possible," he said. "You have to be lucky."

People don't care for 30 per cent discounts if they really want something. Haven't politicians ever been christmas shopping? But if the effort to get it is little enough we can wait a few weeks for our car or heat pump.

Maybe politicans with market making ambitions would listen to the old engineering expression:

If it ain't broke - Don't fix it!