Does your state penalize you for having an alternative fuel vehicle?

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Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
68,459
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www.anyf.ca
Or miles driven down an unmaintained gravel road, or on your own property (ex: farms that may use their vehicle on their land). Just get rid of the damn tax altogether for EVs, there are plenty of other taxes we already pay that also go towards roads such as property taxes (for local roads) and income taxes (for provincial roads). Overtaxation is theft. We are already being taxed practically to the breaking point, it's the only reason we need to work so hard. About 50% of our income goes to the government in some way shape or form.

Government is just butthurt that people are finding ways to save money by buying an EV and don't like seeing people saving money.

If the government truly says they care about the environment, then stop penalizing EV owners and rather incentivize their purchase/usage. Having an extra tax is not an incentive.
 

MtnMan

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2004
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that doesn't really make sense for hybrids though

most hybrid vehicles get less MPG than my compact gas-powered honda
The weight of a vehicle effects the wear and tear on our roads, That hybrid tank may get less MPG than your Honda, but it also weights 2 - 3 times as much.

OBTW, my diesel VW, averages over 50MPG, almost 60 MPH on the highway.
 
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MtnMan

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2004
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we need GPS on vehicles that tracks every trip, and charges you per mile on a daily basis
That way if you just happen to drive by where a crime occurred, you are automatically a suspect. Automatic speeding tickets will soon follow.
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
13,636
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The weight of a vehicle effects the wear and tear on our roads, That hybrid tank may get less MPG than your Honda, but it also weights 2 - 3 times as much.

OBTW, my diesel VW, averages over 50MPG, almost 60 MPH on the highway.


I think it goes even further than that - as I understand it, road-wear is proportional to the 4th-power of the axle load of the vehicle. Heavier vehicles cause _much_ more wear to the roads.
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
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MtnMan

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2004
8,960
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MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
23,082
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I've read of toll road charges being received based on license plate readers. Only problem is it was wrong state, right plate #, or halfway across the country.
In this area, numerous cops and firemen partially cover their plates to avoid tolls..
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
68,459
12,613
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www.anyf.ca
Just don't rely too much on automatic licence-plate recognition


I hate that kind of crap, where they use automation/AI to charge people because cops don't want to work. Computers are NOT always right. Sucks that people get victimized by this, and there's really not much recourse. Good luck trying to prove that the computer was wrong. IMO anything that involves getting charged, or worse, going to jail, should absolutely be decided by humans and not AI.

Becoming more prevalant now too. Amazon uses it to track employees and they can be fired based on the AI's decision. Scary what the world is coming to.
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,897
2,716
136
I hate that kind of crap, where they use automation/AI to charge people because cops don't want to work. Computers are NOT always right. Sucks that people get victimized by this, and there's really not much recourse. Good luck trying to prove that the computer was wrong. IMO anything that involves getting charged, or worse, going to jail, should absolutely be decided by humans and not AI.

Becoming more prevalant now too. Amazon uses it to track employees and they can be fired based on the AI's decision. Scary what the world is coming to.
Gubment loves the potential of charging fines. You have to go to court to wipe it. But if you die or some happenstance prevents you from making the trial or a motion to reschedule....the money collection is theirs to enforce.
 

manly

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
11,849
2,807
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My point is, we already pay more than enough taxes, it's up to them to budget properly, it's ridiculous having so many different taxes and being ringed dry especially if more than one are for the same thing. They are clearly not using it for roads when you look at the state of the roads.
You should move to the U.S. deep South, where your political views align with voters and their elected representatives.

The title should read:

How does your state ensure that alternative fuel vehicles pay their fair share of the taxes that build and maintain the state's roads?
Any tax system would also need to be relatively simple to implement; accurate per-mile assessment is probably not going to fly in most U.S. states. Fairness is important, but it only needs to be approximate. It's nice to encourage zero emissions adoption, but I tend to not agree with subsidies for expensive cars. BEV subsidies at taxpayer expense should be means-tested.