Hybrid tax

[LDB]

Originally Posted by jeklin_Olsen

$3 a week? whp's gonna complain about it?! Not when we pay something like $4.40 just in tax on a gallon of our fuel.

Actually $1.92 a week as everyone pays the $37.50. It's the extra $100 that's a point of contention. At 15,000 miles per year, which is low for many if not most drivers, that works out to 6 cents every 10 miles I think.

And yes, there are a few vehicles that will come close to matching an Insight mpg with fuel only and no hybrid system, key word few. So they get off $100 a year cheaper. But they use fuel for every centimeter they drive.

The insight gets 1 mile fuel free pretty much every time it is driven and depending on the drive it may get more than 1 mile. So with round trips that's at least 10 miles a week fuel free, or 520 miles a year. So 10 gallons fuel not used. That's at least 25-30% of the $100 fee saved. Reality may be more like twice that many fuel free miles, saving at least half of the fee.

So bottom line is I guess we're talking about more like $1 a week or less extra fee. A penny every 5 or 6 miles at most and for many drivers and their annual mileage more like a penny every 10-12 miles.

But besides the raw numbers there's also the principle of the thing.

[trollbait]

The average fuel economy of the US fleet has been steadily creeping up. Combined with increasing costs for road maintenance, with a likely neglected fuel tax rate, and states now have a budget shortfall. The fair solution is to increase the fuel tax, or come up a way to fund roads that hits all users equaling. Maybe call SUVs trucks instead of station wagons.

That of course is unpopular publicly. So politicians slap a fee on hybrids, and plug ins, because those segments don't have the clout to fight back. Of course, that's because of their low numbers, which means these taxes on them will only help with the shortfall for a very short time, if at all. Hybrids use less gas, but it's the fact that all cars have been getting more efficient that is causing the funding issue.

A funding system needs to be devised for BEVs, but again, the actual numbers of them on the road now are too low to worry about at this time. Since the Leaf and Volt first on sale in 2010, there were maybe 10 million, BEVs and PHEVs, sold in the US. There is something like 276 million registered cars. Slapping the few plug ins in any one state with a higher fee isn't going to help with budget shortfalls.

[Draigflag]

If it's any comfort to you guys over there, EACH tank of fuel in my Q7 is $110 just in tax, and the annual road tax is $828 approximately.

[LDB]

Originally Posted by Draigflag

If it's any comfort to you guys over there, EACH tank of fuel in my Q7 is $110 just in tax, and the annual road tax is $828 approximately.

If our politicians get their way we will be matching you sooner rather than later. And they'll spend all the money on everything except fixing the roads and bridges.