Money is fungible and government handouts are government handouts. Moreover, many of those subsidies are in the form of bonds, low interest loans, and so on not just tax credits.
If you think even about the etymology of "hand-out", it is not in fact the government handing out money — the company is handing less money to the government.
When the federal government gives a tax credit for installing residential solar panels, it is not a "consumer bailout" or "welfare".
We have a perfectly good term for this, which is "tax credit", because that is what it is.
Again they're receiving more than just tax credits and rebates. They're also receiving loans, a recent $101 million Critical Industry Program grant, tariff protections, and on and on.
However, if you just want to talk taxes we can. A tax exemption or rebate is an asset given to you by the state. It operates not unlike loan forgiveness. You owed something and now they(the state) are waiving that liability.
> When the federal government gives a tax credit for installing residential solar panels
This is absolutely a handout to the solar industry.
A tax credit is still a handout, and double so when they're given to favored industries and companies.
When the federal government gives a tax credit for installing residential solar panels, it is not a "consumer bailout" or "welfare".
We have a perfectly good term for this, which is "tax credit", because that is what it is.