Well, well, well. It's registration renewal time, for the VW diesel I bought last year.

I get on DMV's web site, grind through the process, and get my total. "What the Sam Hill?!?!" It's about $20 more than I expected.

Look more closely and find a $29-ish "Highway Use Fee." What??

"The purpose of the highway use fee is to ensure a more fair contribution to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund from fuel-efficient and electric vehicles using highways in the Commonwealth."

I get it. The state gets a big ol' chunk of revenue from fuel taxes, and my little dino-burner doesn't require as much fuel as my old SUV, so the state wants a bigger chunk of my VW pie. But still, it brings to mind the old "no good deed goes unpunished" thing.

And yes, the extra cost will be recovered over the course of my next 550-mile tank. But I still want to grouch a little about it.

Grr.

They have been doing that everywhere. They claim that fuel efficient vehicles still tear up the road, but don't pay the motor fuel tax to fix the roads. I bet you still make out better money wise over a full size pickup.

quote:

Originally posted by p08:
I bet you still make out better money wise over a full size pickup.

For sure!
After 300k miles, my SUV must feel like it's on vacation, only being driven once a week or so.

Does anyone really believe that the federal and state governments will not find a way to continue the revenue stream that they have become accustomed to from fuel taxes. Increased registration fees, license plate fees, taxes on total miles of use (think mandatory on-board transponders and monitoring stations, just like toll roads now use but applied to all public roadways).

In 1917 the Congress voted for a special tax on telephone users in order to fund World War I. That tax still applies to your monthly telephone bills (including cellular accounts).

Taxes never go away.

quote:

Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:
In 1917 the Congress voted for a special tax on telephone users in order to fund World War I. That tax still applies to your monthly telephone bills (including cellular accounts).

Taxes never go away.

Except for the one in your example.

https://www.cnet.com/news/tele...n-1898-finally-ends/

quote:

After a long legal battle and strong urging from Congress, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury decided in May to discontinue the federal 3 percent excise tax on long-distance telephone service effective Aug. 1.

It also decided not to apply the tax to wireless, voice over Internet Protocol service, prepaid telephone cards and other bundled services. The IRS also said it would allow taxpayers to claim a refund in 2007 for taxes collected on those services retroactive to February 2003.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:

quote:

Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:
In 1917 the Congress voted for a special tax on telephone users in order to fund World War I. That tax still applies to your monthly telephone bills (including cellular accounts).

Taxes never go away.

Except for the one in your example.

https://www.cnet.com/news/tele...n-1898-finally-ends/

quote:

After a long legal battle and strong urging from Congress, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury decided in May to discontinue the federal 3 percent excise tax on long-distance telephone service effective Aug. 1.

It also decided not to apply the tax to wireless, voice over Internet Protocol service, prepaid telephone cards and other bundled services. The IRS also said it would allow taxpayers to claim a refund in 2007 for taxes collected on those services retroactive to February 2003.

Thank you for correcting me. But now one of my favorite examples of government greed is gone and I'll have to look for another one. Shouldn't take very long.

quote:

Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:
now one of my favorite examples of government greed is gone and I'll have to look for another one. Shouldn't take very long.

What happened is that they mandated electric vehicles and then later someone told them they are going to miss out on gasoline taxes.

Oh no we can't have that we need to create a new tax to cover the old tax. Usage tax it is. Scumbags.

Never felt so good to get 16.9 mpg. Although this premium gasoline is getting kind of pricey now.

quote:

Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:
Thank you for correcting me. But now one of my favorite examples of government greed is gone and I'll have to look for another one. Shouldn't take very long.

You could stick with the income tax. It was originally enacted to pay for the Civil War, and became permanent, without regard to apportionment, just before the First World War with the 16th Amendment.

The granddaddy of them all is probably the tax on tobacco, which was originally enacted in 1794 to pay for the Revolutionary War, and became permanent in 1864 to pay for the Civil War, and has never gone away since. If you live in RI, CT, or NY, those states screw you 4x harder than the feds, but it's for your own good.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Never felt so good to get 16.9 mpg. Although this premium gasoline is getting kind of pricey now.

Ditto except for some reason my premium fuel car with double the horsepower of my daughter’s regular fuel car gets about 2 mpgs better. We both have 4 cylinders and do mixture of city/freeway. She must let her car idle alot.

Guess they wouldn't consider 11.7 MPG to be 'efficient'?

I'm sure I'll have to pay the tax anyway.

Interesting question.

Is there a way to purchase 87 gasoline for lawn equipment or diesel for farm equipment without having to pay the highway use taxes? (or is this something a tax attorney would recover later)

As much as I like performance cars, I probably will never pull the trigger on a car that requires premium. I always thought anything with a turbo needed premium until I bought my daughter a VW with a turbo. Hmm.

I’m reading a book, The Power of Zero, about getting your retirement income down to 0% taxation. Taxes are tough to beat.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
As much as I like performance cars, I probably will never pull the trigger on a car that requires premium. I always thought anything with a turbo needed premium until I bought my daughter a VW with a turbo. Hmm.

I’m reading a book, The Power of Zero, about getting your retirement income down to 0% taxation. Taxes are tough to beat.

I've got a turbo on my car and it uses the 87 octane stuff according to the Owners Manual.

Oh, and I also try to keep my income as low as possible to avoid taxes.

What if you have a f250 Diesel and only use it to tow on weekends meaning mileage is very low per year?

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
As much as I like performance cars, I probably will never pull the trigger on a car that requires premium. I always thought anything with a turbo needed premium until I bought my daughter a VW with a turbo. Hmm.

I’m reading a book, The Power of Zero, about getting your retirement income down to 0% taxation. Taxes are tough to beat.

My car doesn't require premium, it's computer will adjust and pull timing if it detects any knocking. I always use premium because I want the most horsepower possible out of my car, and also because it's an direct injection engine so I want to always use top tier and premium so I don't have to worry about walnut blasting in my future.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
As much as I like performance cars, I probably will never pull the trigger on a car that requires premium. I always thought anything with a turbo needed premium until I bought my daughter a VW with a turbo. Hmm.

I’m reading a book, The Power of Zero, about getting your retirement income down to 0% taxation. Taxes are tough to beat.

My car doesn't require premium, it's computer will adjust and pull timing if it detects any knocking. I always use premium because I want the most horsepower possible out of my car, and also because it's an direct injection engine so I want to always use top tier and premium so I don't have to worry about walnut blasting in my future.

Run some Techron or sea foam once in a while also. I used to do just at oil changes, but now with Direct Injection only engines, I do it every quarter.

These additional taxes really nail people still using ICE vehicles. Gas tax, highway use tax, and (if California gets its way) mileage taxes.

I just renewed my 92 Buick Roadmaster and it went from $41.75 to $31.75.

Thanks