ATLANTA — Can’t figure out how the federal stimulus package applies to you? Buy a motorscooter, Bill Gornto suggests.
Gornto, who’s been selling scooters in Atlanta since 2003, has been talking up the tax break on scooters, courtesy of the federal stimulus package.
Blink, and you’ll miss it. The information is buried in the 400-some-page document that explains the $787 billion federal stimulus act. But in short, anyone who buys a motorscooter — and some other modes of transportation — before Jan. 1, 2010, can take a tax deduction for state or local sales tax for up to $49,500 of the purchase price, the Internal Revenue Service website says.
Paolo Timoni, president and chief executive of Vespa-maker Piaggio Group Americas, cautions that there’s no immediate benefit for consumers but that they can claim the sales tax on next year’s tax filings. “Anything helps, right?” he said.
Gornto, owner of Twist N Scoot, said he’s heard all of the stories behind why people walk through the doors of his shop.
They just got married and only need one car. They can work from home and don’t need to be on the road as much. Gas prices are too high. Car insurance is expensive.
Gornto said the tax break gives reluctant buyers a little nudge.
“A lot of people are actually getting a little giddy about it,” he said.
He’s just happy to be included. The stimulus-backed tax incentives are for cars and light trucks also.
As the gangly legislation was being hammered out in Congress, other types of transportation such as electric cars and motorcycles were added as well.
“If car purchasers were going to get a break, well, motorcycles are more fuel efficient and easier to park” and have other economic and environmental advantages, said Kathy Van Kleek, spokeswoman for the Motorcycle Industry Council.
