Posted on 03/03/2007 11:14:08 AM PST by Dallas59
Sounds like someone broke the law but it wasn't Mr. Wetzel.
What about bicycles? They use the roads too. Maybe a sweat tax?
I wondered when this was coming....
The one class of entities that profits the MOST from fuel use by motorists, is the various levels of government. There shall never be a suitable substitute power source, until the taxes may be applied to the purchase of that energy supply, at the point of sale. This goes for ethanol, hydrogen, compressed natural gas, powdered coal, or even a charge on the battery of an electric automobile.
For pure economy, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle would make considerable sense. But there are no road taxes paid on that electricity used to charge the batteries overnight, making the vehicle independent of the burning of motor fuel.
No fuel taxes collected = no slush fund available at the state and Federal level for roadway construction, funding of other transportation infrastructure, or buying influence.
In a word, much less money for pork barrel projects, at least not from that source. Highway fuel tax "trust funds" have always been kept segregated from general funds (unlike Social Security), but carefully planned and staged raids on these funds, for projects that really have very little to do with motor vehicle roadways and streets, have become more and more successful over the years. Think of the funding of "light rail" which does zilch for replenishing the fuel tax revenue fund. When more highways are built, at least people drive more, and in the process, consume more fuel, thus generating still more revenues. Or so-called "bridges to nowhere", that benefit perhaps a few hundred individuals, but cannot, ever, be justified as making the infrastructure work to repay its own cost of construction and maintenance.
When you think about energy sources, think first of how the government at all levels can get their cut. That explains about 90% of the law dealing with growth and development.
You are allowed to leave behind an enormous carbon footprint, if you just pay the fees up front. Just ask Al Gore how that is done.
Don't give the Commiecrats any ideas.
You nailed that one good.
Delaware brags about being the "HOme of Tax Free Shopping" because of a lack of a sales tax. However, there is another tax called the gross receipts tax, which is exactly what the name implies, a tax on a business's gross, in addition to all the other taxes it pays. Supermarket's are particularly susceptible to it because of high volume. I never really paid that much attention to until I moved to Virginia, where we pay sales tax on our groceries. I shop in the same chain supermarket I did in Delaware, but even after the sales tax my grocery bill is less because product prices are lower.
"There's a lesson here. If you're running your car on used cooking oil, shut up about it."
I know of some country hippies that quietly brew their own bio-diesel and tell no one.
Grand-dad use to run shine here and would pour some in his 42 Dodge PU,,said it kept the motor clean and gave it alittle boost..tasted good,, too
The solution is the 2nd amendment which is why the JBTs have been eroding the rights contained therein
Brew your own and keep it quiet.
That's what the govt teaches us.
"it's a free country".
Yeah, but that's all over now. I miss it too.
Ding! Ding! That's exactly what I thought! Now, if I only knew how to run my car on cooking fuel...
We agree, then. See post #3.
It's no joke. The gubmint requires motor vehicles to pay tax, no matter how they get down the road. When people switched cars and trucks to Propane in the 70's, they had to pay a $75 fuel tax and display the sticker on their windshield in Texas. When you drove your car to the propane dealer, he had to check that you paid the tax or no fill up. Many people took 20 gal tanks in their trunks to fill and then transfered them to their other vehicle to avoid the tax. Propane eventually was MORE expensive than gasoline to take the benefit away.
If you look back at some of my posts from years ago about switching to ethanol vehicles, the main reason we hadn't done it years ago was not that it wasn't possible, but that you might make a few gallons behind the shed and have a sip without paying the tax. E-85 became the answer. They had to poison it somehow to keep the people from drinking without paying tax. You don't need to mix it with anything for it to work fine. But a shot with Coke is pretty good. I guarantee you that if enough vehicles start to show up with nothing but batteries, or H2, they will invent a road tax sticker for you to buy to get you plates and safety sticker.
Just as a hypothetical, if all vehicles started to get 100mpg or more, the gas tax would go to $1 a gallon instead of 39 cents. The government likes vehicles to get 10mpg for the tax revenue. They have no reason to push for higher mpg or alternative fuels. It would be like a home builder saying he thinks we should be forced to live in trailers. What's in it for him? The government is not our friend. It is in direct competition with business for our money. If private enterprise comes up with a way to take money from the government share, they tax it more.
When was the last time you actually heard that comment not in jest?
Fixed it for you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.