Annual "Hybrid tax" goes into effect in Virginia

[lightblue]

In the Uk all cars have to have road tax paid on them. The level this tax is based is based on emissions, so a hybrid is free whereas a 4l pickup will be a couple of hundred pounds per year. Fuel is heavily taxed too. Bit different than Virginia by the sounds of it.

[Lonestar]

I thought the tax was about punishing self-righteous Democratic voters myself.

It's so Richmond can make withdraws from the Bank of Fairfax while claiming that they are lowering taxes overall in VA(if you'd read the article you'd see that Richmond is COMPLETELY ELIMINATING the sales tax at the pump while only modestly increasing the wholesale tax). So, they really are punishing people for not wasting resources. It would be analogous to increasing water rates because people have started to conserve water.

It's also them targeting the vehicles that do much less damage to the road(the purpose of the gas tax is for transportation funds), while giving a free pass to people driving their 2 and 3 ton Trucks and SUVs that do many times the damage to roads then 1 ton compacts.

Unless your argument is that 10,000 priuses do anywhere near the damage of, say, 10,000 Explorers, F-150s, Titans, etc to roads?

[Sava]

Unless your argument is that 10,000 priuses do anywhere near the damage of, say, 10,000 Explorers, F-150s, Titans, etc to roads?

DD never has any arguments. He just offers subpar trolls with occasionally funny zingers.

[Ben Kenobi]

He got Sava to bite here.

It's so Richmond can make withdraws from the Bank of Fairfax

Last I checked MD is just across the river. If VA is so bad why does Fairfax exist?

[Lonestar]

I love the Pious tax. It's also progressive taxation because a Pious is expensive. Taxing wealthy liberals. We all know they love targetting 'SUVs' with various laws.

The max MSRP for a maxed-out trimmed Prius starts at $30k(the basic starts at 24k). Taking a "Basic" Tundra regular cab, which starts at 24k, and doing nothing other than making it a 4x4 drive train(so, no trim), makes it start at 30k. So the claim that hybrids are particularly expensive compared to big trucks and SUVs is a lie if there ever was one, but par for course for you. Those poor suffering folks who chose their giant freakin' trucks because they couldn't afford a compact or medium sedan.

The big gas guzzler SUV and Trucks tend to cost more than compact and medium sedans(which are the majority of the hybrids on the road in this country by a wide margin, as I linked earlier), and they do more damage to the road. So-called "wealthy liberals" are at worst spending "about" as much as the big gas guzzlers, although in practice big trucks=big costs, both initial and upkeep.

[Lonestar]

Last I checked MD is just across the river. If VA is so bad why does Fairfax exist?

Because it was founded in the 1790s? What do you mean "why does it exist"?

The situation is analogous to how NYC bankrolls the entire state of NY. In Maryland it's Montgomery County and the Port of Baltimore that bankrolls most of the state. Most states have a small part of it that lifts the rest of the state; Texas and California are essentially unique in that they have multiple urban areas spread all over those states that bankroll the rest of it. The difference is that in Virginia the population hasn't shifted irrevocably in towards the NOVA region the way it has in other states to match it's economic strength, so the rural delegates can still make withdraws from the Bank of Fairfax and score points punching those smelly hippies.

[Lonestar]

This tax makes a ton of sense. Your gas tax pays for the road use, not environmental harm.

Actually, it pays for road maintenance. The costs of which would be a lot lower if there were more small or medium sized sedans in lieu of large pickups and SUVs on the road.

Maybe in New York the gas tax is a explicit "road usage toll", but in Virginia it's to cover transportation-related costs.

[Ben Kenobi]

so the rural delegates can still make withdraws from the Bank of Fairfax and score points punching those smelly hippies.

Then why doesn't the 'Bank of Fairfax' relocate en masse to, say, Baltimore?

[Ben Kenobi]

So the claim that hybrids are particularly expensive compared to big trucks and SUVs is a lie if there ever was one, but par for course for you. Those poor suffering folks who chose their giant freakin' trucks because they couldn't afford a compact or medium sedan.

Which is why the Pious has substantial benefits and grants to lower the purchase price.

The big gas guzzler SUV and Trucks tend to cost more than compact and medium sedans(which are the majority of the hybrids on the road in this country by a wide margin, as I linked earlier), and they do more damage to the road. So-called "wealthy liberals" are at worst spending "about" as much as the big gas guzzlers, although in practice big trucks=big costs, both initial and upkeep.

Wealthy liberals are all about punishing choices that they don't like by raising taxes. They like to vilify SUVs, etc. Some people actually have families. So I don't see why conservatives shouldn't reply in kind. Like I said, if the Bank of Fairfax doesn't like it - they should go to MD.

[Lonestar]

'Cause it has some of the worst crime in the country.

In addition, the Feds have been spending the past 10 years building out Northern Virginia since that's where all the bases are, and they are all much closer to the District than the handful in MD. No one wants to commute 3 ****ing hours a day to work if they don't have to.

[MrFun]

$64 a year


Long story short, hybrid owners are expected to pay an annual tax because they use less gas, even though:

• The tax isn't applied to conventional high mileage cars like, say VW Rabbits
• Hybrid vehicles tend to cost substantially more than their conventional counterparts, so much more in state income tax
• Hybrid vehicles tend to be smaller, and as a result do much less damage to the road then conventional vehicles.

Seriously, this is all about those ****ers in Richmond sticking it to the damnyankees in Nothern Virginia while driving back to their ****ty home districts in their bigass pickups.

That's fuckin' stupid. They want to punish people for being more environmentally conscious?

People who own hybrids should be rewarded with an annual tax break/refund.

[snoopy369]

That's fuckin' stupid. They want to punish people for being more environmentally conscious?

People who own hybrids should be rewarded with an annual tax break/refund.

The concept is that the element of the gas tax that goes to fund the roads is something not really related to gas - it's just put there for convenience. Hybrid owners are underpaying this. It's not a crazy idea, just a bad implementation.

[Lonestar]

Which is why the Pious has substantial benefits and grants to lower the purchase price.

Nu-uh buddy, you're the one who tried to claim that hybrids were substantially more expensive than gas guzzlers, and implied that only "wealthy liberals" bought hybrids. At the very, absolute worst, someone buying a smaller hybrid sedan that is all tricked out will be paying as much as a larger truck where the trim is somewhere in the middle. I

You gonna retract?

Wealthy liberals are all about punishing choices that they don't like by raising taxes. They like to vilify SUVs, etc. Some people actually have families.

And a lot of families got along just fine with medium sedans. I grew up in one of those(two parents, 3 kids). The idea that you "need" a large SUV or Truck to cart around a couple of kids is basically a false one.

So I don't see why conservatives shouldn't reply in kind. Like I said, if the Bank of Fairfax doesn't like it - they should go to MD.

So in your mind commute time doesn't factor into home location?

Incidentally, it is generally cheaper to live in MD then in Virginia, because the crime is so relatively bad and the commute sucks.

[Lonestar]

The concept is that the element of the gas tax that goes to fund the roads is something not really related to gas - it's just put there for convenience. Hybrid owners are underpaying this. It's not a crazy idea, just a bad implementation.

Are hybrid owners underpaying relative to the damage they do to the roads?

Most hybrids sold in the US are small and medium sedans, as I linked to earlier. Smaller vehicles put much less wear and tear on the roads than larger ones.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Wealthy liberals are all about punishing choices that they don't like by raising taxes. They like to vilify SUVs, etc.

Gas guzzling = punishing choices they don't like in the Beniverse