AutoblogGreen

It's more about control and less about revenue. Don't ask, don't tell and you'll be OK.

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No

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What about electric vehicles?

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They want to "make sure the playing field is level" between alternative fuel users and the oil industry by taxing vegetable oil? That's like leveling the playing field between David and Goliath by putting a blindfold on David.

How about we just tax mileage? Cars already have odometers, so it would be easy to track. And then the rule becomes fuel independent. If you drive on the roads a lot, you pay for the roads a lot. Taxes on fuel can be separate and be based on their environmental impact.

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State Mileage taxes make it difficult to tax non-residents passing through their state.

It also makes it difficult to apportion the amount of out of state driving done by its residents.

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North Carolina is so full of sh*t
http://www.cafrman.com/Articles/Art-NC-S1.htm

Cars and motorcycles and non transport uses of gasoline are subsidizing trucks, which ruin the [people's] roads.

If you drive off the roads, how you they tell. It is not hard to plug a scanner into the PCM and reset the mileage. Wow you only drove 1,000 miles last year, that will be $10.

Maybe if they limit the maximum tire pressure to 75psi, that will help extend the life of pavement.

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Another problem is that when you try to register with the IRS to pay these federal road taxes (to say nothing of the state side), most people are TURNED DOWN. This happened to me personally, I have the rejection letter from the IRS. It's form 637 "registration to file certain excise taxes"...you're supposed to file on form 720 - IF you've been approved via the 637 application. I told them exactly what my business was doing (and our customers) and they said that there was no tax for that. I've asked other IRS people and they said there is a tax. We even invited the IRS to take a look at what we're doing. They came out and looked at everything, then left saying they'd get back to us about the vegetable oil stuff, but never did.

So clearly, the IRS doesn't know what it's doing. The day that they put clear guidance in writing is the day I'll fully comply with whatever they say to do - and then lobby for change. But until they can't be clear about what the law is today, they cannot expect compliance.

At the state level, Texas (and California) define biodiesel as 'wholly or partially derived from vegetable oil', which includes SVO/WVO. Since Texas exempts "biodiesel" from road taxes (40 cents, I think), we don't have to pay it.

Jason Burroughs
DieselGreen Fuels
512-391-0569
www.dieselgreenfuels.com

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If you make your own alcohol are you taxed?
If you make your own food are you taxed?

Land of the free... Ya right.
The government doesn't control you... it's your own corporations.

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The fines not withstanding, I also read that the motorist is required to post a US$2,500 bond before he can use bio-fuel in his car.

Why are they discouraging people from this eco-friendly alternative? It's similar to the Singapore situation, as mentioned in my blog

There seems to be an ambivalence of governments towards bio-fuels. On one hand they can see its obvious advantages. On the other, they are reluctant to bite the hand of the oil companies that feeds them so much taxes.

Hun Boon
http://starbamboo.wordpress.com/

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"Gas" tax . . . vegetable oil.

Say it with me.

"Gas" tax.

Vegetable oil.

Vegetable oil is not gas, ergo, if you don't use gas, you shouldn't pay the "gas" tax.

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So, what do do if you drive an electric car? Are you supposed to pay a gas tax? What if your car runs on water? This has got to be the dumbest law I've heard of in a while. I can't believe someone actually tried to enforce it in this case. I hope the the state gets sued silly.

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when the greens get their wish for all electric cars and the govt not longer collects road tax on fuels get ready to pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars for you licence plate to make up the difference. this is called the results of unintended consequences like a lot of so called do gooders laws. remember the 10% luxury tax that closed all the boat building yards in this country?

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Going after these 1 hundreth of 1 percent is a waste of time but for the future it could become a big concern if gas taxes, i.e. the source of most funds for road building, are not collected in proportion of demand for new roadways and upkeep on existing ones.

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good thing this guy lives in the good old USA because in europe if they "stick" your fuel tank and you have untaxed fuel they confiscate your car.they can "stick" your fuel tank here in the USA and if you have untaxed fuel,off road or heating oil in the tank you pay a big fine. they can tell by the color.

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Sometimes I ride my bicycle to work. Am I breaking the law?

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Well - if you ride on public roads, and used vegetable oil as part of your breakfast, maybe. You probably should have used fully-taxed diesel on that skillet when whipping up that breakfast omelet... :)

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motorman -

I think I've read of waste veggie oil burners in Europe. Are they seeing similar legal issues?

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I think we're overlooking something here. We are facing a deteriorating world situation, that could send the price of crude through the ceiling. I think it may be to our advantage to completely forego taxing privately made bio-fuels. Let's do our best to get that system up and running, so we can base further developments on it. It's almost immoral to prosecute those people who are in the vanguard of creating a partial solution. The taxation of this nation is already approaching percentages that would have outraged our founders. How much is enough?

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I think there has got to be some incentive to get people to use biofuels.A no tax for making or using biofuels would be a great way to do this. Big biodiesel producers are becoming much like big petroleum producers. I read an article in Heavy Duty Trucking magazine 59% of the samples they tested were not up to specifications and will lead to driveability problems. I have noticed that once a co-op or large producer starts making large quantities of fuel the experimentation stops and focusing on mass production becomes most of their focus. I am a backyarder myself I will continue to experiment with biodiesel whether I can make it myself legally or buy it from a local producer. I have several engines and injectors that I have been experimenting with. I also have been experimenting with some pumps trying to produce the cleanest burn with lower combustion chamber temperatures to prevent NOx emissions. I have looked into the legal side of making your own fuel.In NC you must post a $2,500 bond apply for a license and fill out and pay your monthly road taxes on gallons produced. The people like myself who would be willing to make their own fuel and learn more by experimenting with their vehicles don't have $2,500 lying around to post the bond. I have no objections to paying road taxes if they insist but I think if you are working for your own energy independence and reducing our need for foreign oil and the fuel you are making is far better for the environment you should get a break in the form of NO TAXES or PENALTIES!!!! The use of biofuels help everyone if we don't use as much petroleum the price will come down as demand decreases, biofuels help farmers and encourage experimentation for new transportation ideas and designs, The air quality and environment are less harmed by biofuel use.I think the trade off for the environment greatly offsets the taxes due.
- Gadget

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The first paragraph in the NC Fuel Tax application says that it only applies to businesses, not personal use. I am not sure why this man was fined.

http://www.dor.state.nc.us/downloads/gas1262_mfapp.pdf

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