Question about Electric cars.

[OwnedByFerrets]

and even more to the point, solar fueled cars.
How will the government gets its road taxes when no one is buying gasoline?
My conspiracy minded brain has concluded that the prior death of the electric car (and no, I haven't seen the movie yet) was NOT only because of the gas companies squashing it, but also our government being afraid of losing the revenue that gasoline brings into its coffers.

[ingac70]

1. IF they ever became the standard...

I'm sure some kind of tax would be added in with the retail price.

[Gregorian]

2. DMV fees.

[IChing]

5. And mileage odometer readings

they are even talking about putting chips in the cars that can be read.

[Gregorian]

7. RFID chip that counts wheel revolutions.

Or even just having renewal of fees requiring a mileage submission.

Yuck. I hate this kind of stuff. Can't we just go back to horses and bikes?

Electric cars are pretty cool though.

[Double T]

3. The american automobile manufacturers, big oil and energy...........

and the tax man are certainly in cahoots. The technology exists to obtain much higher gasoline mileage and it has been squashed by these three cronies.

[Gold Metal Flake]

4. We'll deal with that when we get there.

[William769]

6. Don't put a bumper sticker on it!

[Liberal In Texas]

8. Taxes. For driving.

You pay taxes imposed during WW2 on the tires. (Allegedly a temporary tax that is now permanent.)

You pay taxes on gas, state and local (in some places).

You pay taxes to "inspect" your vehicle.

You pay taxes to dispose of the oil change.

You pay taxes to just run the vehicle around. License taxes.

You pay sales taxes when you buy it.

You pay fees when you sell it. (Transfer fees, etc.)

You pay taxes to park it in public spaces. (Parking meters)


The only thing you are not going to pay the taxes on with an electric car is oil related things.

They'll still make some kind of money.

With battery powered vehicles, we will probably have recycle battery taxes at some point.

I do not believe in NOT paying taxes.
Taxes are the chit that allow us to live in a society that allows us to have roads and water and libraries and free government and all that other socialistic stuff.

My wife and I tonight decided (as if this was a thing to decide) that we will never by another gas guzzling automobile. Either a Prius (hybird) type or a pure electric from now on. EVEN if I have to build the bloody thing myself.

That's it. Over.

[frazzled]

9. It's a good question.

I always wonder what the state governments will do if they succeed in actually getting people to stop smoking by raising the tax on cigarettes: they'll lose a hell of a lot of revenue. It's a sort of interesting Catch-22.

We got a substantial tax rebate last year for buying a hybrid vehicle. Plus, we use half the gas of an average car, so we're paying half the gas taxes that go to supporting infrastructure. I wouldn't be opposed to returning some of that lost revenue to the government if it were earmarked specifically for, say, public transportation or further energy research. But I wouldn't pay for building more roads: we don't need to be making it easier for people to drive more. Honestly, I would kick in, say, $1,000 for alternative fuel research, public transport, or other such related government initiatives in return for making them lose money on my fuel-efficient car.

[DemoTex]

10. FWIW: the sales tax on my new Prius was rolled back to me here in SC. $300.