Go green, save green, head to the greens

As part of the federal stimulus money recently approved by Congress, a Central Florida business is getting financial incentives to produce eco-friendly vehicles.

“We've been depressed for a couple of years. The golf community has been sluggish. People have been leaving Florida,” says Bill Morgan, owner of Action Golf Cars in Ormond Beach.

So Uncle Sam's throwing Bill Morgan a bone.  “It's amazing. We've just been overrun this past week since this became official,” he says.

Part of Morgan’s inventory qualifies for a big tax credit under the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. “It's great for our business,” submits Morgan. 

It's a major incentive to buy a 4-wheeled, street-legal, electric vehicle.  Morgan happens to have a lot of them in stock, and the credit he passes on to customers?   "$2,500 plus $417 for each amp hour of load capacity of the batteries over 4 amp hours,” says Morgan.

In other words,  $5335.60 in income tax credit for a car that only costs slightly more than that that amount, Morgan clarifies.

So take an electric vehicle retailing in the $7,000 range.  After the federal tax credit, it would be less than $2,000, fully equipped with everything.  That's cheaper than buying a non-street legal golf cart.  Once you get a license tag put on this thing, you can hit the streets.

The only limitation is that you can't go on any roads where the speed limit is more than 35 mph.  “A lot of people buy these just to run to the grocery store. Just run around in them on the beachside,” Morgan says.

“The idea is to stimulate the economy. The question is how much? I think it’ll be immeasurable,” says Joe Bert, CEO of Certified Financial Group in Altamonte Springs.  He says that while the idea of the federal tax credit is good for the green movement, the government is missing the bigger picture.

“We’re still an oil-based economy, and we will be for a long time. And I think we need to be focusing on atomic energy instead of green golf carts,” says Bert.

But in the meantime, Bill Morgan says if you're paying thousands in income tax, have a desire to go green, and need an auxillary car for quick, nearby trips, it's a no-brainer.

Street legal golf carts get 40 to 50 miles per battery charge.