"Annual PEV fee"

A table like that is what I envision also. However I still think that states that are already doing annual inspections may wind up going the mileage route. States that don't probably would use calculated averages.

And there's still a question of how federal road tax fits into this.

Gasoline prices especially affects low income people, who regardless of an increase in gas prices still have to drive the same number of miles to work, get their kids to school, get to the doctor, or even worse a far away hospital. This topic especially effects them since raising gas prices via higher taxes is one of the options being suggested.

And keep in mind that while upper middle class people in the burbs will be filling their garages and driveways with PEV's, lower income people in apartments won't have an ability to charge, some will but most won't for the foreseeable future and will still have to drive gasoline vehicles. So shifting the road maintenance burden onto them via higher gas tax will be a hardship.

And yet we want more PEV's on the road and so we need to avoid revenue methods that overly punish them. Thus I think it's worth thinking this through and not tossing oversimplified solutions at the problem without thinking of the multiple consequences.

How discussing this topic in detail somehow indicates a lack of concern about global warming is quite a leap. The thread title is Annual PEV Fees. Feel free to start a Global Warming Fee thread and we'll all join you over there and probably agree with you on everything.

 

I'm used to seeing the poor used as a political football -- usually by those who are vested in fossil fuels or the status quo.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and point out that the poor are way disproportionately affected by climate change, pollution related health problems, local pollution (guess who lives along side and on the toxic waste) and wars.

 

Yes, and increasing gas taxes isn't going to help them while it might hurt them.

 

I agree and we certainly don't want to see poor people used as an excuse to keep using fossil fuels. We just may need to help them through the transition.

 

Lets face it, it is cheap to drive a car in the US compared to other countries in the world. I noticed there haven't been anyone from other countries posting on this thread. I hope they chime in and tell us what it costs to drive a car in their country.

 

Let's say the gas tax is $0.10 a gallon. You fill up your car once a week it takes 10 gallons. That's a dollar a week period that comes out to $52 a year. Where do they come up with that $48 extra?

 

This is a transitional period of time we live in and somehow we will get through it but it will never be fair for everyone.

 

Other states charge up to $250 extra for a Hybrid, what is the extra $240 for?

Answer...
It’s a Koch bros lobby effort that has brought the current crop of mostly poorly thought out taxes, to states that apparently “listened” to the special interest group.

The tax in my state was spearheaded by a very vocal anti-Prius legislator who was on the record as trying to push a Prius tax as early as 2008. His ties with the Koch bros are well documented and there is little left to the imagination as to why an effort to balance the budget with a gas tax bill became a plug in hybrid tax instead with no gas tax increase.

He had quite a bit of fire and anger towards Prius owners stated clearly on the record which is one major reason I strongly reject these “fair share” dog whistle taxes that in reality are punitive and strongly supported by the legislatures base voters rather than being an actual tool to address real funding issues.

Thankfully his bought and paid for rhetoric was tuned down a bit to not include non-plug in hybrids like the Prius,
but in a way if “his self coined Prius tax” would have passed in its original form it no doubt would have created extreme anger and would been thrown out in the courts by now, it would have woken people up to why the taxes are being pushed and by whom.

Ah well, give it a year and they will say the plug in hybrid tax was inadequate now let’s tax normal hybrids and keep moving the bar until it’s an economy car tax.

I guess what can I expect, this is the state that for decades offered half ton pickup plates for 2/3’s the price of a passenger car.