Hundreds of Californians with household incomes of $500,000 or more have collected state subsidies for buying electric and hybrid cars under a program that is criticized as a taxpayer handout to the wealthy.
State regulators, in response, plan to restrict the subsidies to Californians who earn less than $250,000 or couples taking in less than $500,000. But that standard is also under fire from some lawmakers and anti-tax activists, who ask why subsidies worth up to $5,000 are given to people who can already afford the cars.
"The state should not be diverting … taxes on low-income and middle-class families to benefit wealthy drivers," said Senate Republican leader Bob Huff of San Dimas.