Joop SchuurmansFeb 1, 2023
𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚎 🚇

#Norway already taxes cars by weight—which makes a lot of sense, because heavy vehicles seriously degrade asphalt. The US and Canada should do the same.

"If You Want a Car This Heavy, You Should Pay Through the Nose
It’s time to tax vehicles for weighing too much—even if they’re electric."

Sorry, Joe...

https://slate.com/business/2023/01/electric-cars-hummer-ev-tax-fees-weight-joe-biden.html

If You Want a Car This Heavy, You Should Pay Through the Nose

It’s time to tax vehicles for weighing too much—even if they’re electric.

Slate
Feb 1, 2023 at 3:15pmWeb
Show threadJoão PinheiroFeb 1, 2023
@straphanger

I totally agree! That's the way it should be.
Show threademartinFeb 1, 2023
@straphanger Not to mention pedestrian safety
Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Feb 1, 2023

@straphanger the legacy gas tax does this, big/heavy use more fuel so more tax paid.

But rightly We need a fuel *agnostic* method so EVs and all future vehicles are covered.

Make/model times miles driven is basically the same as the gas tax. Big/heavy pay more.

Unfortunately, most govts doing this, default to GPS tracking to get miles driven. If only there was some existing device in a car that could track miles driven....lol

Show threadlegofwoofusFeb 1, 2023

@pixelpusher220 @straphanger Tire tax.

Somewhere I saw a very clever suggestion that tires would be a good proxy for the things states want to tax—amount of driving and vehicle size—while being agnostic to engine type, and also not requiring any invasive data collection.

Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Feb 1, 2023

@legofwoofus @straphanger

It's an interesting idea. One concern off the top is it would encourage people to keep using older tires leading to safety issues.

It seems basically the same as the gas, approximate usage/damage via a consumable.

The simplicity of make/model/weight times annual odometer reading seems simpler to me.

Show threadmonorail timesFeb 1, 2023
@straphanger Some states already tax by weight, and some states have an extra tax for EVs because they miss out on the fuel tax money
Show threadCabinet 20 🌱 Feb 1, 2023
@straphanger I thought I came up with this idea agaes ago, turns out it wasn’t an original thought. Makes sense - seems like a well-balanced waying of taxing. Heavy things do more wear on the road.
Show threadKaneFeb 1, 2023
@straphanger tax the oil companies instead. ExxonMobil alone made $56 Billion in profit just in this one year
Show threaddominic 🌱Feb 1, 2023
@straphanger not to mention no 9k Lb truck should be allowed to accelerate that fast
Show threadPxtlFeb 1, 2023

@straphanger I like the idea, but I think it's more to it.

I'd make it a scoring based system that doesn't just account for weight, but also visibility, cross-sectional area, bumper-incompatibility, and pedestrian-impact characteristics.

Classify them as "high risk vehicles" and give them stricter enforcement and punishments for traffic violations. Like a Ford Maverick is more dangerous on the road then a Tesla 3 even though they have similar weights because of the shape of the vehicle.

Show threadTom ForsythFeb 1, 2023
@straphanger For a long time they were taxed by weight - except in the wrong direction. Anything classed as a "truck" was taxed lower (and had looser emissions restrictions) to help small businesses. The problem is that what we now call "SUVs" were classed as "light trucks", so it actively encouraged people to switch from regular cars to behemoths.
Show threadpeter honeymanFeb 1, 2023
@straphanger state automobile registration fees are deductible as personal property tax (schedule A, line 7) UNLESS they are based on weight #alas
Show threadRickFeb 1, 2023
@straphanger Maybe, but we should still be incentivizing EVs over ICE cars.
Show threadOld accountFeb 1, 2023
@straphanger @jdekstrand Some states do charge by weight. I think it was in the 80s when SUVs were reclassified from truck to “station wagons” and were no longer subject to weight fees.
Show threadSocialistStanFeb 1, 2023
@straphanger Always more taxes for more politicians
Show threadPhil LandmeierFeb 2, 2023
@straphanger Never happen. Taxing by weight is far too logical and scientific for this country.
Show threadMark FischerFeb 2, 2023
@straphanger This seems like a really great idea.
Show threadNothingToSeeHereFeb 2, 2023
@straphanger Here in Oregon, we have to pay WAY more taxes because we own a tiny Prius C. Because we get such high gas mileage, and therefore they can’t get the extra taxes from gasoline. So, we get charged more because we’re helping the environment?!??