Interesting timing of this to become a hot news item with the Tesla Model S racking up sales. In the past couple of weeks it seems that there's an issue for electric and hybrid vehicles that is bubbling to the surface.
As I am sure most of you know, gasoline is taxed. Of course the more you use, the more you're effectively forking over the government and, theoretically, it
should help deter folks from getting gas guzzlers. The reality is people don't care and see it as the cost of "doing business." People want to have fun, whether that's in a supercar or a monster truck.
Of course because electric and hybrid vehicles use less fuel, or none at all, folks are starting to push forward the concept of taxing electric and hybrid vehicles. A part of me finds this to be an admirable idea; however, the concept of adding a percentage-based tax on top of a more fuel efficient vehicle is simply wrong.
Consumer Reports polled its users via a social media platform and soon enough they were receiving some great answers. Obviously, some folks were pissed by the idea of an additional tax slapped on. Others weren't fazed. Lastly, there were some shockingly good ideas to spread fairness:
1) Why not tax tires? Everyone's got those!
2) If we're going to tax due to road damage, the best way to do it would be to tax vehicles based on their weight. I am sure someone in D.C. would lobby it destroys the trucking industry, which I am sure it would make more challenging.
3) The simplest method would be to increase fees/taxes on drivers' licenses, registrations and plates.
All of that said, we're curious: what say you?
Should electric or hybrid vehicles get another tax slapped on?
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