quote:

Originally posted by 41:
92 Buick Roadmaster

Nice!

Money money money money.

Think about two big societal changes going on right now, two things that were illegal forever, but are now becoming legal. Gambling (sports gambling in particular) and marijuana. They're becoming legal, not because we as a society have changed our views on it, but because politicians have figured out they can make a lot of money from it. It's all about the money.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
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)

Lots of farms and ranches have tanks of non-highway gas and diesel for on-property equipment that they get a fuel company to periodically fill. The fuel is dyed so they can figure out if you're illegally putting it in your cars.

There's talk of taxing vehicles based on miles driven. How will they know - well, mileage gets recorded when you get an inspection or other service (especially at a dealer).

quote:

Originally posted by mikeyspizza:
There's talk of taxing vehicles based on miles driven. How will they know

They're going to want you to plug a gadget into your OBD2 port, monitoring your odometer (and who knows what all else, covertly) electronically.

quote:

Originally posted by mikeyspizza:
There's talk of taxing vehicles based on miles driven. How will they know - well, mileage gets recorded when you get an inspection or other service (especially at a dealer).

I wrote off the miles I drove for business in my yearly taxes for over 20 years and nobody ever asked me to prove it.

They'll probably do the honor system for this one also, and only check on an audit.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
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)

Lots of farms and ranches have tanks of non-highway gas and diesel for on-property equipment that they get a fuel company to periodically fill. The fuel is dyed so they can figure out if you're illegally putting it in your cars.

Correct.
A few years ago I was hauling my skid steer from one job to another with my F-350 diesel when a silver Suburban began tailgating me. After a couple of miles I got to my job site and jumped out to ask the SOB what his problem was. The first thing the guy did was flash his State trooper badge at me and pull out a long test strip of some sort and stick it in my fuel tank. He was testing if the fuel was dyed or not. He said the fine was something like $1500...
Fortunately I was clean (that time!) but then he tried to get me for being over 26,000 pounds...until I showed him my CDL.... He finally left with his tail between his legs.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
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)

Lots of farms and ranches have tanks of non-highway gas and diesel for on-property equipment that they get a fuel company to periodically fill. The fuel is dyed so they can figure out if you're illegally putting it in your cars.

AFAIK, only diesel comes dyed for off road use. I’ve never heard of an option to buy dyed gasoline.

There may be a state program where you can apply for a rebate. Back in the 80s as a teenager in Virginia, I used to annually fill out a state form to get a rebate for the fuel we put in the boat. However, there was no way to get a refund on the federal tax, that I know of. Here in Utah the state charges taxes on gasoline no matter where you use it. Boat, tractor, generator, lawnmower, Molotov cocktail... doesn’t matter, you’re paying the tax. Maybe there’s a Special User Fuel Permit for gasoline, but I’ve never heard of it.

As a side note, I use K-1 Kerosene in my space heater. It gets taxed at the pump where I normally buy it. I started going down to our local po-dunk airport and buying jet fuel. It isn’t taxed, and it’s way cheaper to boot. Perhaps you could buy some AV gas at the airport without being taxed. Imagine the lawn mower souped up on 100 octane leaded.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
He said the fine was something like $1500...

You’re thinking of the federal fine. The IRS sometimes shows up on job sites and pulls fuel from road semis. The fine for having dyed fuel is $1000 per gallon. I don’t know how often that fine is actually assessed, but it’s huge if it is. “Here’s your $250,000 fine. Pay the clerk on the way out.”

quote:

Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:
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).

One reason taxes never go away is that people still want services, like roads. The money has to come from somewhere. Roads don't just spring out of the ground.

I don't like taxes any better than anyone else, but if you don't want toll roads everywhere, they will paid for with taxes.

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.

As I understand it, it is primarily compression ratios that define the need for hi-test. Higher compression needs higher octane ratings to prevent early detonation, which you hear as knocking. I believe I have read that at 11:1, you won't need high octane, but over 13:1, you will.

(And not that you said this, but the belief some have that hi-test provides more power is not true. It is about preventing early detonation. It is the higher compression ratio that provides more power. Hi-test gas in a low compression doesn't make more power.)

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
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)

Lots of farms and ranches have tanks of non-highway gas and diesel for on-property equipment that they get a fuel company to periodically fill. The fuel is dyed so they can figure out if you're illegally putting it in your cars.

Correct.
A few years ago I was hauling my skid steer from one job to another with my F-350 diesel when a silver Suburban began tailgating me. After a couple of miles I got to my job site and jumped out to ask the SOB what his problem was. The first thing the guy did was flash his State trooper badge at me and pull out a long test strip of some sort and stick it in my fuel tank. He was testing if the fuel was dyed or not. He said the fine was something like $1500...
Fortunately I was clean (that time!) but then he tried to get me for being over 26,000 pounds...until I showed him my CDL.... He finally left with his tail between his legs.

CDL not withstanding, I would have looked at your reg to see what the trailer and truck were registered for. Over 10K hits the cdl requirements for the trailor. Straight truck is over 26 K. One guy I stopped to help had a registered class 1 truck. He had over 2000 pounds of coal on the back, he was well into a class three, pushing class 4. That got expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by Citadel:
One guy I stopped to help had a registered class 1 truck. He had over 2000 pounds of coal on the back, he was well into a class three, pushing class 4. That got expensive.

I bet he appreciated the "help."

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:

quote:

Originally posted by Citadel:
One guy I stopped to help had a registered class 1 truck. He had over 2000 pounds of coal on the back, he was well into a class three, pushing class 4. That got expensive.

I bet he appreciated the "help."

He had run out of fuel on the mountain coming from the breaker. He had borrowed the truck from a buddy. Ford one ton with a dump box. He figured he save the money for the delivery fee. Buddy had registered the truck as a class 1 half ton payload. The truck was over weight as it sat with nothing on it. I put him on the scales at the quarry just up the road. If the truck had been registered for it’s class, he would have been fine. It cost him.

quote:

Originally posted by 41:

92 Buick Roadmaster

Remember when Roadmasters had four CruiseLine PortiVents on each side?

Those were the days! (I guess I'm getting old, living in the past.)

quote:

Originally posted by Citadel:

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:

quote:

Originally posted by Citadel:
One guy I stopped to help had a registered class 1 truck. He had over 2000 pounds of coal on the back, he was well into a class three, pushing class 4. That got expensive.

I bet he appreciated the "help."

He had run out of fuel on the mountain coming from the breaker. He had borrowed the truck from a buddy. Ford one ton with a dump box. He figured he save the money for the delivery fee. Buddy had registered the truck as a class 1 half ton payload. The truck was over weight as it sat with nothing on it. I put him on the scales at the quarry just up the road. If the truck had been registered for it’s class, he would have been fine. It cost him.

So the “help” you provided was to ensure the state got its taxes. Got it. Why were you looking over his registration instead of helping him get going?

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by 41:

92 Buick Roadmaster

Remember when Roadmasters had four CruiseLine PortiVents on each side?

Those were the days! (I guess I'm getting old, living in the past.)

My grandfathers both always had Buicks (nice cars, but not showy like a Cadillac), and my mother's father had a Roadmaster like that. I don't remember it, but I have seen photos of it.