Virginia Hybrid Tax

[JohnnOhio]

I hear you. Ohio has a repubican governor and he was talking at one time about putting a tax on people that commute 20 miles or more to work. It didn't go anywhere, thank god , because it would have affected me (35 miles one way). They keep touting clean energy to boost the economy and now Virginia is shooting it down. They might as well get used to it, hybrids are the future of the auto industry. How else will they get the fuel milage the federal government want to have by 2025.

[BWP]

http://www.plugincars.com/oregon-still-considering-road-use-tax-replace-gas-tax-126598.html

 

Looks like VA isn't alone.

[cepwin]

As someone who is in Virginia it does anger me...to specifically target certain vehicles is wrong.  I think a road tax based in some form or fashion to the amount of wear and tear the vehicle puts on the road is the fairest thing.   However I'm not sure if it's at all practical...how can you do it without being intrusive (who would tolerate the government mandating something in your car to monitor it's usage???)  

 

There are issues with a distance commuted tax because around here (and I suspect in other areas) it would fall often on people who earn less as they are more likely to not be able to afford housing near work and have long commutes (although the counter argument is they're by necessity using the roads more.)  At least most of the people with awful commutes that I know are people who don't earn a large amount. 

Unfortunately with the desire among certain politicians to push people to move back into cities (they think it's more environmental) it may come to that sort of thing at some point.

[joe]

Taxing hybrid cars is incorrect and unfair.  Taxed SUV hybrids average mpg in mid 20s while untaxed diesel cars get 40 mpg.  To be fair, the Virginia law should use the EPA’s mpg overall average as the tax threshold.  Vehicles averaging EPA 25 mpg or higher should pay a $25 a year tax.  This will increase transportation funds by imposing a lower tax across a wider base without singling out one class of vehicle.

[Tdefny]

Make the new road use tax based on new tire purchase (adjusted for the rate at which a particular design wears). Let it be collected by the Feds and rebated to each state based on the number of cars registered. It is not perfect but it would be workable.

 

The current use taxes found in fuel purchases should remain but be earmarked for green infrastructure, perhaps for charging stations of solar/wind generation. This way the drivers of fuel inefficient cars are encouraged to save energy and helping to prepare the way for the future. Drivers of efficient cars are already paying for this by purchasing a vehicle that harms the environment less. Or use it to help pay for the effects of the pollution created from fuel use like lung and heart diseases or global warming. Too bad you can't trust the government to actually spend it this way.

[MikeB]

If you want a really fair tax to pay for road wear, it has to be based on the weight of the vehicle, not on fuel consumed. My motorcycle gets mileage similar to a C-Max, but there's no way it produces anywhere near as much wear on the roads. Technically, the wear is proportional to the square of the vehicle weight, so trucks do almost all the damage to the roads. But we're apparently obligated to subsidize trucking, since otherwise they would be unable to afford to move cargo at all.