Best and Worst State Taxes for Hybrids

I appreciate the effort it takes to develop a 'cost of ownership' model although we've had similar analysis in the past. Two assumptions are key:

1. Hybrid purchase penalty - a capital cost differential
2. Single-point, miles - a given number of miles selected as either the median or mean of the mileage distribution

The hybrid equivalent usually works if one or more technical specifications are omitted. Quiet ride, something "Bell the Hybrid" seeks to kill yet one of the greatest differences between our hybrids and ordinary cars. It is terribly expensive to make an ordinary engine car quiet as a hybrid. So the anti-hybrid crowd passed a law adding a noise maker since the internal space and additional weight consumed by the traction battery is not a significant performance penalty. However, hybrids still have a major advantage in little or no vibration and smooth operation. Miles per year is the other assumption.

Drivers come with a weighted distribution that looks somewhat like a bell curve. Often neglected are what hybrids do for the 'upper half' drivers or what I call "road warriors." The miles/year for used cars in Ebay provides raw data showing the annual mileage mix. It turns out the hybrid advantage above 12,000 to 15,000 miles rapidly adds up. My annual mileage still runs about ~20,000 miles/year which meant saving one or more car payments, +8% per year, when the cars were still being paid off. Now it means distance is no cost barrier as the fuel costs are not that far off from the cost of meals on the road.

Let me suggest adding a table or graph showing the distribution of miles/year based upon Ebay used cars sales. Then add to that a column showing the savings/expense. When I've done this in the past, it turns out "road warriors" make out like bandits.

What doesn't make sense are those in the lower, miles/year group. Until the alternative, taxi cabs and buses are seen as the remaining option. For these folks, it really doesn't matter what car they own compared to the costs of their next transportation alternative.

Bob Wilson

 

It seems like the largest lever in your analysis is the sales tax rate on the hybrid premium.

I would suggest you also include the impacts of the federal marginal income tax rate.

The $3,500 premium could have been directed to a tax deferred account.
The $1,120 saved in gasoline could also be directed to a tax deferred account.

A dollar saved is worth more than a dollar spent.

Federal income taxes have a more dramatic impact on EVs and PHEVs where energy/fuel costs can be excluded from income taxes.

 

In Australia it's very simple:

• Victoria - $100 discount on a $600 annual registration fee, but you must pay $1.80 for a pair of green "HYBRID" stickers on your number plates, lest the Fire Brigade cut a cable. (In other states, they look for a blue Toyota or Lexus emblem.)
• ACT - 0% stamp duty payable on new cars with green rating of 16/20 or better. Does not apply to the same car purchased second-hand (2%). No registration discount ($891 for me last week!)

That's about it.
At least the Australian-built Camry Hybrid (very slightly different to the USA model) is only a few thousand $ more than the standard models and would probably save on petrol costs alone.
Oh, there was a Federal rebate for converting to LPG of $1000 for a retrofit or $2000 for new car with LPG. LPG cars also have stickers - one for each tank - to warn the Firies.
So it's not like there no incentives or nothin'...
I was listening to an old podcast of What Drives Us where they mentioned a $4500 tax credit for a $5000 Prius plug-in retrofit in Colorado. So if you converted the Camry Hybrid, you could be further ahead.

 

You need to simplify your analysis. Get rid of depreciation, sales tax, property tax(?). Focus on fuel use and fuel taxes. You could add costs like $14 debt for oil wars, pollution costs based on environmental damage, oil import costs, Federal budget for military 40% of US Federal taxes, could be reduced to 20% if everyone drove Prius. Jobs lost due to US producing less energy efficient products, jobs gained due to Prius mfg coming to US.

 

as an American Indian I pay no taxes on my cars

 

Earlier this week, I filled up, ~$32, and realized VA is taxing for two tanks of gas. per year . . . about 20 gallons. To put things in perspective, we drive about 20,000 miles per year at just over 50 MPG, about 400 gallons per year.

To minimize the $64/year tax, one would need a car that burned less than $64/0.17 ~= 375 gal/year, close to 400 gal/year extra. So if we had a car with say half the MPG, close to the fleet average of 25 MPG, we would be at tax parity. The increase in fuel consumed at this rate of taxation would be pretty close to the $64 VA anti-hybrid tax. But we would be paying for nearly an extra 400 gallons, nearly $1,600 extra to avoid the tax.

In reality, the extra gas expense of the non-hybrid, say a new pickup truck, would cut down on our pleasure driving. We would stay at home instead of going to the beach or down state to Smith Lake or even Lake Anna. Instead of that $1,600 going into the rural Virginia economy plus the extras, the pickup truck would burn up gas money that would leave the state . . . like smoke from a VA house on fire.

It is a shame there are no conservationist, you know conservatives who would preserve VA resources and income in VA government. Rather, it looks like taxaholics intent on burning up VA's wealth . . . out the tailpipes. The supposed 'redistribution' won't work for the down-state Virginians whose benefit will be so small as to be all but invisible . . . and wiped out by the increase in the wholesale gas price increases.

Bob Wilson

 

Is this supposed to be based solely on tax purposes or just using that in addition to ownership costs? If so adding in predicted maintenance costs could also be an option that many people (especially those speaking negatively about cost of hybrids in comparison) don't factor in. Such as my 250,000 mile prius needing brakes replaced once.

 

The tax on EV's and hybrids reduces the effective mileage by 10% for the average driver. They are buying 20 gallons, 1,000 miles more fuel than they need. VA (and oil companies, military contractors and Bin Laden's henchmen) want you to buy a car that gets 10% less mileage so they can all make more money while US imports more oil, increases trade deficit, wastes more on military spending, pollutes more.

 

yes on gasoline, no sales tax when I by a car only have to pay $90 for the tag. that is my only out of pocket expense when I buy a car and it is only registered thru the tribe that I am a member of, no state tags or tax.

 

Any old people with good nomogram skills ?

 

Wonder if someone has put together a list of state gas taxes ... -- ill look ...
here's one -- State Gasoline Tax Rates, 2009-2013 | Tax Foundation

State Gasoline Tax Rates
as of January 1, 2013 (Cents Per Gallon)
. State Excise Tax Other Taxes and Fees Total Rank
. Ala. 16.0 4.9 20.9 37
. Alaska 8.0 0.0 8.0 50
. Ariz. 18.0 1.0 19.0 42
. Ark. 21.5 0.3 21.8 35
. Calif. 36.0 12.7 48.7 2
. Colo. 22.0 0.0 22.0 33
. Conn. 25.0 20.0 45.0 4
. Del. 23.0 0.0 23.0 31
. Fla. 4.0 31.5 35.5 10
. Ga. 7.5 21.0 28.5 20
. Hawaii 17.0 30.1 47.1 3
. Idaho 25.0 0.0 25.0 25
. Ill. 19.0 20.1 39.1 5
. Ind. 18.0 20.0 38.0 7
. Iowa 21.0 1.0 22.0 33
. Kans. 24.0 1.0 25.0 25
. Ky. 28.5 1.4 29.9 18
. La. 20.0 0.0 20.0 38
. Maine 30.0 1.5 31.5 16
. Md. 23.5 0.0 23.5 29
. Mass. 21.0 2.5 23.5 29
. Mich. 19.0 19.7 38.7 6
. Minn. 28.5 0.1 28.6 19
. Miss. 18.0 0.8 18.8 44
. Mo. 17.0 0.3 17.3 45
. Mont. 27.0 0.8 27.8 22
. Nebr. 24.6 0.9 25.5 24
. Nev. 23.0 10.1 33.1 12
. N.H. 18.0 1.6 19.6 41
. N.J. 10.5 4.0 14.5 48
. N.M. 17.0 1.9 18.9 43
. N.Y. 8.1 42.6 50.6 1
. N.C. 37.5 0.3 37.8 8
. N.D. 23.0 0.0 23.0 31
. Ohio 28.0 0.0 28.0 21
. Okla. 16.0 1.0 17.0 46
. Ore. 30.0 1.0 31.0 17
. Pa. 12.0 20.3 32.3 15
. R.I. 32.0 1.0 33.0 13
. S.C. 16.0 0.8 16.8 47
. S.D. 22.0 2.0 24.0 28
. Tenn. 20.0 1.4 21.4 36
. Tex. 20.0 0.0 20.0 38
. Utah 24.5 0.0 24.5 27
. Vt. 19.0 7.7 26.7 23
. Va. 17.5 2.4 19.9 40
. Wash. 37.5 0.0 37.5 9
. W.Va. 21.8 12.9 34.7 11
. Wis. 30.9 2.0 32.9 14
. Wyo. 13.0 1.0 14.0 49
. D.C. 23.5 0.0 23.5 (29)