Not so fast you tofu-eatin' organic hippie hipster, y'all need to pull over...

[drainoil]

[QUOTE=shovel;380784 Tax dodging freeloaders are why the rest of us pay too much.[/QUOTE]

Being we have almost half of the adult population in our country that doesn't work for a living and all the welfare,SSI benefits fraud going on, we have lots of people dodging work and therefore taxes. More people taking from the system than giving to it.

[P-hack]

Originally Posted by shovel

I may have an unpopular opinion here but I think infrastructure should be paid by everyone - even if you don't have a car...

Everyone already does pay for the roads, trucks pass those costs onto the consumers.

What about Gasoline itself?, internet, phone, electricity, natural gas, all are part of "infrastructure". So regardless how much of these things you use, you are saying that everyone else should pay for it? And how do we make prostitution part of the infrastructure?

[user removed]

I'll bet there is not a single person here who can name all of the taxes they pay. If we can't name them all we haven't been taxed enough and govt will keep adding taxes until we go berserk. How many taxes did we fight a revolution over in the US?

regards
Mech

[justme1969]

Oh my goodness someone stirring up a hornets nest?
FLAT TAX! and to all the naa sayers it will work.
But along with it congressional amendments must not be allowed to modify its base structure only the percentage, or we will have this gobbledy gook back.
I read somewhere the avg. income looses 31.3% after items being taxed repeatedly on same items for purchasing your cash from bank to buying item to dadadada In buisness economics class years back the professor showed where the made in Tiwan toy purchased for $5 cost american tax payers an additional 7% after all govt. involvement and handleing tax and transfer tax and on and on. this thread should be closed it will only become arguementative afterwards. good luck I wont be back in this thread again myself.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by P-hack

It makes sense that folks who use the road should pay for the road (in proportion to the wear and tear that their vehicle makes). That wear and tear is independent of fuel use though, but good luck fixing taxes.

I agree with the first point, but not the second. Fuel use is indicative of wear and tear- the more mass you want to move around on the road, the more fuel it takes to do it. Yes, hybrids "cheat" the system a bit, but lighter, more efficient vehicles produce dramatically less wear and tear on the roads, with added benefits like less pollution. They should be encouraged, not singled out for taxation.

[RedDevil]

I wonder if EV owners could dodge that tax by adding a tiny engine somewhere?
Or hybrid owners by temporarily disconnecting their hybrid system?
Why tax a hybrid that isn't anymore, right?

And would the system extrapolate to the other side, so that people who extend the license on extremely polluting cars get paid for it?
Would make it worthwhile to do the school run in a Sherman tank

[wdb]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

And would the system extrapolate to the other side, so that people who extend the license on extremely polluting cars get paid for it?

It's a road use tax, not a pollution tax.

Would make it worthwhile to do the school run in a Sherman tank

You jest! But in my immediate vicinity there are quite a few Mennonites, some of whom run farm equipment with steel 'tires' instead of rubber tires. (There is heaps of weird little technology-based segmentation among Mennonites, for those who may not know). When they drive that equipment over paved roads, the roads get chewed up pretty badly. Harken back to studded snow tires. One local town has taken to banning them from the roads due to the damage they inflict.

Now back to the tax rant.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

How many taxes did we fight a revolution over in the US?

A bunch, but the issue was not really the taxation itself. It was the Constitutionality of the authority that sought the taxes. These North Carolina taxes would pass Constitutional muster in the Revolutionary era.

In the Revolutionary crisis, Parliament argued it was supreme within the empire and therefore could tax colonials directly. The colonials argued that direct taxes on their residents (VA or MA, for example) could only be passed by colonial legislatures, the only bodies in which colonials had direct representation. Colonials did not object to taxes as such. Some urged the Parliament to request revenues from the legislatures, as had generally been the practice. But because the North American mainland colonies were among the lightest taxed regions of the empire, Parliament thought it needed a more certain way to raise funds to pay off the staggering national debt built-up through a century of global wars with France and Spain over--in part--control of the North America imperial zone. Colonials believed Parliament was departing from the lawful constitution and that despotism would soon follow as a result.

My problem with these proposed NC hybrid taxes would be that they're not a solution to the problem. If the problem is a lack of funds from the gas tax, adding a fee to the Prius is not an effective solution. High fuel economy ICE cars, like the Cruze are contributing too. More people will buy those and fewer fees will be collected. They need a new tax model, and if they want to stay with user fees, perhaps they should consider miles driven as the taxable unit of measure. Or simply raise gas taxes. But they're afraid of the word "tax," so they look for a "fee."

Regardless, the fear of the word "tax" in today's politics has nothing to do with the actual history of the Revolution.

[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by wdb

It's a road use tax, not a pollution tax.

It is a registration extension fee, it has nothing to do with the road, except "we will use it for the road unless something else comes up. We promise"

Originally Posted by wdb

You jest! But in my immediate vicinity there are quite a few Mennonites, some of whom run farm equipment with steel 'tires' instead of rubber tires. (There is heaps of weird little technology-based segmentation among Mennonites, for those who may not know). When they drive that equipment over paved roads, the roads get chewed up pretty badly. Harken back to studded snow tires. One local town has taken to banning them from the roads due to the damage they inflict.

Always!
Maybe they can use the tax on some strategically placed neodynium magnets in the pavement... technology striking back. Still jesting.

[MPGranger]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

Would make it worthwhile to do the school run in a Sherman tank

Could I supersize for a Panzer?

Are we talking the Black Order Mennonite Mafia here, or just run of the mill mennonites? I'm Pennsylvania Dutch myself, but the Black order just put a bad taste in people's mouths.

And any sort of farm equipment is annoying on the road. Nothing like cresting a hill with a nice little turn at the summit on a bike, going at a rapid pace; and then sphincter pucker style braking because of an Ahmish buggy trotting down the road. The Walmart in my home town had a hitch post outside