Federal subsidies for electric vehicles are an income transfer to the affluent, and now comes news that significant numbers don’t qualify. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (Tigta) in late September reported that the feds handed out nearly $74 million to undeserving EV owners from 2014 through 2018.

“The [Internal Revenue Service] does not have effective processes to identify and prevent erroneous claims,” said Tigta, meaning filers are applying for credits largely on an honor system. Between confusion...