by economists, illustrating a major pitfall for the Biden administration in its efforts to lower emissions through subsidies.
Many of the credits were subsequently expanded by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats and signed by President Joe Biden. The study did not directly address the effects of that law but underlined a common criticism that enacting incentives for the adoption of zero-technologies, without also imposing penalties on carbon emissions, is insufficient to reach the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
The report added that the disproportion of the tax credits claimed by high-income earners is most dramatic with the electric vehicle tax credit, with the top quintile receiving 80% of all credits and the top 5% receiving about 50% of them.