Do you remember when the states gave subsidies to people who drove big cars, because it wasn’t fair that they had low gas mileage and were therefore paying a lot more in gas tax?
nope, I don’t either. “fairness” is really just about the state being able to target a minority for a tax increase, so they can say the “average” person didn’t get a tax increase, defining “average” as “median”.
BTW, ignoring electric vehicles, which clearly pay NO gas tax, here is a list of some of the most fuel efficient cars, by class:
2-seater: Honda CR-Z
mini-compact: Scion iQ
subcompact: Chevrolet Spark
compact: Toyota Prius c Hybrid
midsize: Toyota Prius Hybrid
Large: Ford C-MAX Hybrid FWD
small wagon: Audi A3
small wagon: Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen
midsize wagon: Toyota Prius v
Only 4 of the 9 cars were hybrids. So taxing “hybrids” more because they pay less in gas tax isn’t “fair”, since in many cases regular cars are getting better gas mileage and paying less in gas tax.
Meanwhile, these taxes they add are fixed amounts yearly, which means the guy who owns a hybrid but rarely drives it will pay a lot more for the roads than they get out of the roads.
so one imbalance does not justify another, I don’t know the answer but there has to be a better one.What always happens is the little guy gets squeezed. Just look at the toll lanes in Orange county,CA. They jack the rates up super high at rush hours, to keep the toll lanes moving don’t you know, and effectively prohibit lower income drivers from being able to access them.