Tax credit for cycling

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To the Editor:

I’ve created a petition to the White House about creating a mileage-based tax credit for commuting by bicycle to help reduce carbon emissions. According to the EPA, the average U.S. car burns 423 grams of CO2 per mile. Currently there is no mileage deduction for someone who rides a bicycle to and from work. Meaning they end up paying more taxes than someone who drives. Creating a mileage-based human-powered vehicle tax credit that is more substantial than the one you can claim on an automobile would give people more of an incentive to use a bicycle for commuting. With the data shown above, if a person biked just 20 miles a week to work (or 1,040 miles a year) they would be saving 969.85 pounds of CO2. If 10 million people biked only 20 miles a week we could reduce carbon emissions by 4.84 million tons. This tax incentive could help Americans save gasoline, money, and live a healthier life. If you feel this is a worthy cause, please voice your support and sign the petition posted on the White House website at: wh.gov/l7XKX.

John Stanwood
West Tisbury