News: Washington state may introduce annual MPG-based car taxes

[MetroMPG]

Via ABG: Washington state may introduce MPG-based car taxes

Senate Bill 6923 would impose a vehicle excise tax on all passenger vehicles based on EPA ratings of a cars' fuel efficiency. For example, the owner of a hybrid car such as, say, a Toyota Prius, would pay $60 in annual taxes, whereas the owner of a Hummer H3 would pay $180 a year.

...

The tax would replace slumping revenue collected through the state's gas tax. Rising fuel costs have lured drivers from their cars while the increased popularity of gas-efficient vehicles has cut back on the number of trips drivers make to the pumps.

Is it really true that this tax will hurt lower income people more, as some argue, because they can't afford to buy newer cars that get better mileage? Seems to me there are more older cars that get better mileage than the latest crop of cars.

More: Seattle Post Intelligencer

[Frank Lee]

"The tax would replace slumping revenue collected through the state's gas tax. Rising fuel costs have lured drivers from their cars while the increased popularity of gas-efficient vehicles has cut back on the number of trips drivers make to the pumps."

Slumping revenue... can that be true? More miles driven, more drivers, more SUVs, more vehicles, and because a couple of them are hybrids they say the revenue is slumping?!?

[Lazarus]

Yea I agree demand is higher than ever. Here's a look.

The EIA 2007 data shows the recent trend (graph, below left). Soaring gasoline prices have not been able to keep year-on-year demand flat, let alone decrease it. Economists define the price elasticity of demand (PE), which measures demand responses to changes in price.

[Frank Lee]

I've not found more current data yet, but MN used 400,000,000 more gallons of gas in '97 than '87 (from 1,900,000,000 gallons to 2,300,000,000 gallons )! P.S. 2,700,000,000 gallons in '04. Still looking.

"The gas guzzling reflects the fact that more people are driving, that nearly everyone is driving more miles and that motorists are buying bigger cars with lower gas mileage." http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62578944.html

And MN was 18th in the U.S. in gas consumption. I have no reason to believe there's been a reversal in that trend, much less a slowdown.

[SVOboy]

Find some numbers for 2007 and we'll see,

Besides, it may be dropping per capita. It's especially an issue when building roads if people are driving more and paying less taxes to do it, *shrug*

[Frank Lee]

Still looking...

MN performs poorly in the "per capita" rankings as well...

[GenKreton]

If they are basing this new tax off of how far you drive and your EPA rating, then why not just raise gas taxes more? Requires less overhead in checking people's odometers and taxes the people actually wasting the most fuel the most.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by GenKreton

If they are basing this new tax off of how far you drive and your EPA rating, then why not just raise gas taxes more? Requires less overhead in checking people's odometers and taxes the people actually wasting the most fuel the most.

Just playing devil's advocate.... Tourism?

[cfg83]

GenKreton -

Originally Posted by GenKreton

If they are basing this new tax off of how far you drive and your EPA rating, then why not just raise gas taxes more? Requires less overhead in checking people's odometers and taxes the people actually wasting the most fuel the most.

Hrmmmmm. Don't know. If the gas in one state is demonstrably more than another state, maybe people would stock up on gas from neighboring states? Like crossing the border for booze.

CarloSW2

[metroschultz]

Originally Posted by cfg83

GenKreton -



Hrmmmmm. Don't know. If the gas in one state is demonstrably more than another state, maybe people would stock up on gas from neighboring states? Like crossing the border for booze.

CarloSW2

They cross for cigarettes, booze,why not for gas? Then the lower tax state will raise its taxes,(not as much) to gain higher revenue. It would trickle over till one state got greedy then maybe all would go up evenly.
Just a thought.
S.