Cash for Golf Carts Fiasco

Just when you think that you have heard it all, along comes the government with another program. If you thought that "Cash for Clunkers" was a boondoggle, wait until I tell you about the golf-cart fiasco.

Thanks to the federal tax credit to buy high-mileage cars that was part of President Obama's stimulus plan, our infamous "Cash for Clunkers," Uncle Sam is now paying Americans to buy that great necessity of modern life, the golf cart. Yes, you read it correctly.

The Wall Street Journal reports that our government provides tax credits from $4,200 to $5,500 for the purchase of an electric vehicle, and when it is combined with similar incentive plans in many states the tax credits can pay for nearly the entire cost of a golf cart. "The purchase of some models could be absolutely free," Roger Gaddis of Ada Electric Cars in Oklahoma said earlier this year. "Is that about the coolest thing you've ever heard?"

In South Carolina, according to the Wall Street Journal, sales of these carts have been soaring as dealerships alert customers to Uncle Sam's giveaway. "The Golf Cart Man" in the Villages of Lady Lake, Florida is running a banner online ad that declares: "GET A FREE GOLF CART. Or make $2,000 doing absolutely nothing!"

Golf Cart Man is referring to his offer in which you can buy the cart for $8,000, get a $5,300 tax credit off your 2009 income tax, lease it back for $100 a month for 27 months, at which point Golf Cart Man will buy back the cart for $2,000. "This means you own a free Golf Cart or made $2,000 cash doing absolutely nothing!!!"

The golf-cart fiasco has followed an IRS ruling that golf carts qualify for the electric-car credit as long as they are also road worthy. These qualifying golf carts are essentially the same as normal golf carts save for adding some safety features, such as side and rearview mirrors and three-point seat belts. They typically can go 15 to 25 miles per hour.

The IRS has also ruled that there's no limit to how many electric cars an individual can buy, so some enterprising individuals are stocking up on multiple carts while the federal credit lasts, in order to resell them at a profit later.

Isn't our country great. Where else can you live and receive tax credits and loopholes for everything from cash for clunkers, plug-in cars to fuel efficient appliances, home insulation, and vitamins? If this keeps up, it will soon make more sense to retire and play golf than work for living. Bless America!

Source: "Wall Street Journal" (October 17, 2009)