Washington considers annual flat fee for electric cars

[Freeper]

The Northerner (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Apr-23-11 04:29 PM
Original message
Washington considers annual flat fee for electric cars
   
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Drivers of electric cars may have left the gas pump behind, but there's one expense they may not be able to shake: paying to maintain the roads.

After years of urging residents to buy fuel-efficient cars and giving them tax breaks to do it, Washington state lawmakers are considering a measure to charge them a $100 annual fee — what would be the nation's first electric car fee.

State lawmakers grappling with a $5 billion deficit are facing declining gas tax revenue, which means less money to maintain or improve roads.

"Electric vehicles put just as much wear and tear on our roads as gas vehicles," said Democratic state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, the bill's lead sponsor. "This simply ensures that they contribute their fair share to the upkeep of our roads."

Other states are trying to find solutions to the same problem, as cars become more fuel-efficient and, now, don't use any gas at all.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_electric_car_fees

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x947914

What? A tax on the rich that the DUmmies don't like?

Yes DUmmies this is a tax on the rich. Poor folks can't afford electric cars so only rich people for the most part own them.

Exultant Democracy (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Apr-23-11 04:33 PM
Response to Original message
1. What ass-hats. The real concern should be with incentivising more people to convert right now.
   
Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Democrats are great at doing that. Who supports taxing the evil corporation that signs your paycheck into poverty? That's right the Democrats.

pnwmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Apr-23-11 04:55 PM
Response to Reply #1
5. You don't think all cars should help in paying for road maintenance?
   
Edited on Sat Apr-23-11 04:55 PM by pnwmom
It's not as if the electric cars are weightless, or don't require roads to be in good condition.

Now if you would realize that coal fired plants burn coal to charge them up.
I don't have the data, but I would suspect that it takes quite a bit of electricity to charge up that battery.

MH1 (1000+ posts)  Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list    Sat Apr-23-11 05:36 PM
Response to Reply #5
10. Then change the fee structure. Get road maintenance from registration fees.
   
Edited on Sat Apr-23-11 05:37 PM by MH1
Use gas taxes to fund air pollution and climate change mitigation efforts.

Make the fees appropriate for their respective purposes.

Edit to clarify: all cars should be charged similar registration fee based on weight or whatever else might indicate their impact on the road.

Then you would howl about registration fees going up.

[miskie]

If it were based on weight, the primitives would certainly call it a regressive tax, because of poor people who drive around in rusting 78 Skylarks and hippie conversion vans.

And poor Garybeck and his stupid Solar Bus..

[DefiantSix]

Note that Washington isn't concurrently talking about reducing or eliminating the exorbitant per kilowatt tax they levy on all electric power consumed by anybody.  Wouldn't that make this double taxation (or is it triple/quadruple/quintuple/etc... due to the excise taxes, sales taxes, and a whole pisspot full of other taxes assessments and fees they slap onto the automobile itself regardless of it's power source)?

[true_blood]

The Northerner (1000+ posts)Sat Apr-23-11 04:29 PM
Original message
Washington considers annual flat fee for electric cars
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Drivers of electric cars may have left the gas pump behind, but there's one expense they may not be able to shake: paying to maintain the roads.

I would love to hear the liberals and DUmmies cry over this in their seltzer waters. How's that "green" energy now?

[compaqxp]

You use the road, you pay to keep it repaired. I didn't think it was a difficult concept.

I don't agree with a flat fee but I guess if you did it per mile no one would be honest.

I fill in a form every year to pay for things like this due to my occasional use of untaxed (made by me) bio-diesel. And guess what, I don't complain.

[Rebel]

I fill in a form every year to pay for things like this due to my occasional use of untaxed (made by me) bio-diesel. And guess what, I don't complain.

Wait, you make it, probably from products purchased that were already taxed, and you have to pay MORE taxes on it on an honor system?

Yeah, my form would indicate I burned 2 gallons, for the entire year. Oh, you don't believe me government official? Then prove me wrong.