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Featured California’s $100 registration surcharge

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Scarface2005, Nov 13, 2024 at 11:18 AM.

  1. Scarface2005

    Scarface2005 Member

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    Hello my fellow California hybrid, plug in, and ev drivers. I’m sick of paying an extra $100 every year to register my Prius. On top of that, I still have to pay to get it smogged:-(. And, of course I still have to pay state and federal taxes every time I buy gas.

    How is that “progressive”? Taxing those of us that drive low/zero emissions, hypermile fuel efficient vehicles? Tax the gas guzzlers. Tax the coal rollers.

    Please contact your State of California reps and ask them to vote to repeal the regressive $100 registration surcharge for alternative fuel vehicles.
     
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  2. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Believe it or not - there actually ARE states out there w/ very low registration fees as well as ZERO sales tax.
    It's done through a combination of less public services & taxing other means/ways.
    Life .... a series of trade-offs. Choose Wisely
     
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  3. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    It is “progressive” by penalizing you for not buying a BEV.Toyota had already said California’s requirements for next model year are unattainable.
     
  4. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    ??
    Cali adds $100 to registration fees regardless of whether it's all electric, or partial (PLUGIN) electric.
    States That Charge Extra Fees To Own An Electric Vehicle

    If anyone is going to look at $100 fee as penalizing, then the penalty would actually be TOWARDS Plug-In's or EV's.

    Laws need to be rationally related to whatever it's stated objective is. Here, the rationale is that using electricity to propel your transportation means you pay less road tax - via gasoline use. Generally plugins are heavier, so it's rational to tax for Road wear/repair since they too are wearing out the roads - yet using way less gas than a mere hybrid.

    Just be glad the feds don't exact an EV fee, which they easily can - if they wanted to because matching federal funds are used for a lot of road maintenance.
    .
     
    #4 hill, Nov 13, 2024 at 11:59 AM
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2024 at 3:26 PM
  5. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    Virginia has a similar “Highway Use Fee” tax that applies to any car rated at over 25 mpg and is scaled based on the EPA rating. My 2008 Corolla has this fee. that means tourists visiting Virginia do my to pay for their wear on Virginia roads.
     
  6. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Why is it that Hyundai Kia doesn't seem to have a problem with California requirements. Maybe because they didn't spend millions & millions for lobbyists - fighting against the legislation? Expensive Advertising that no one wants evs? Money that could have best been used for EV R&D ?
    It was a gamble that Toyota took, & yet now they have to pay the consequences, or be more successful in moving the EV goal post as THEY see fit.
     
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  7. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    I call it the "hippy tax." Claimed to cover the lost gasoline tax revenue, it runs about the same as a 12 MPG vehicle driving 12,000 miles a year. So I get even by driving 20,000 miles a year.

    Personally, I would replace all gas and diesel taxes based on an annual tag fee indexed by number of road wheels:
    • 2-3 wheels - motor scooters and cycles and trailers
    • 4 wheels - what many of us drive
    • 6 wheels - dualies
    • ...
    • 18 wheels - heavy trucks

    Bob Wilson
     
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  8. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Part of the deal was Toyota bet big time on hydrogen & accordingly spent a boatload on developing it, but no one wants it. Now they have to face the music - caught with her pants down they'll play catch up - eventually.
     
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  9. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    Ideally there would be taxes for out of state vehicles (students, tourists) using the roads. An annual tag tax would penalize you for driving outside the state most of the time.
     
  10. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    I wonder how Toyota US is going to handle the tariffs for non-US produced vehicles. In addition to those produces in Japan, The RAV4(non-PHEV), one of their top selling models, is produced in Canada. the Tacoma is produced in Mexico and the tariff there was threatened at up to 200%.
     
  11. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    #11 John321, Nov 13, 2024 at 1:51 PM
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2024 at 1:59 PM
  12. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    Trump, for better or for worse, ignores typical. I have seen a possible 10%-20% tariff on everything from Canada.

    Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday suggested he could impose tariffs higher than 200% on vehicles imported from Mexico, saying his aim would be to prevent the selling of cars from Mexico into the United States.
    "All I'm doing is saying 'I'll put 200 or 500, I don't care.' I'll put a number where they can't sell one car," he said during a Fox News interview that aired on Sunday. "I don't want them hurting our car companies."
    https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-suggests-tariffs-higher-than-200-vehicles-mexico-2024-10-13/
     
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  13. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    I didn’t see any extra $100 on the Prime, so you don’t on a 2012 plug in. Now I have to double check. New cars get 8 years no smog due in Calif, what more does anyone want? .
     
  14. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    Honesty in government. If they want to improve the environment, quit penalizing those of us who are helping. If it is just a giveaway to EV companies, come out and say you no longer serve the voters who placed you into office.
     
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  15. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    I wasn’t able to find a $100 fee I paid, where is the link to this fee? Seems hard to find any reliable info, like from dmv.
     
  16. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    High tariffs are expected to be placed on Canada and especially on Mexico to curb the possibility of China manufacturing cars in Mexico and importing them to the USA.
     
  17. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    Tariffs are not a problem for Toyota

    Look at their manufacturing might/capabilities and investment in the USA

    upload_2024-11-13_19-33-16.png
     
  18. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    Yeah, they only make their trucks and Corolla, or parts for them, in Mexico. Who needs those in the USA?
     
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  19. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    that’s the definition of regressive taxation which is a constitutional no no.

    generally to be avoided because it can be overturned
     
  20. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) | Definition, Purpose, Members, Replacement, & Provisions | Britannica

    UNITED STATES–MEXICO–CANADA TRADE FACT SHEET Modernizing NAFTA into a 21st Century Trade Agreement | United States Trade Representative

    Toyota will do outstandingly well in this climate.

    US Auto Manufacturers (GM and Ford) may be devastated
    The Rise Of Automotive Manufacturing In Mexico
    "US. automakers, struggling against competition from Asian and European manufacturers, found a lifeline by relocating parts of their manufacturing processes to Mexico. This move not only helped them reduce costs but also allowed them to remain competitive in the global market."
    Ford, GM fire up Mexican supply chains as USMCA restructuring deferred | S&P Global Market Intelligence
     
    #20 John321, Nov 13, 2024 at 8:04 PM
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2024 at 8:17 PM