Car Registration renewal: Got hit with a Highway Use Fee because my car is too fuel efficient

[JEDI]

What is the Highway Use Fee?

The highway use fee (HUF) helps make up for the fuel taxes that drivers with fuel-efficient and electric vehicles spend less on, because they’re not using as much

www.dmv.virginia.gov

You pay the HUF if you register a:
Fuel-efficient vehicle, which is a vehicle that has a combined fuel economy of 25 miles per gallon (MPG) or greater

My Mazda3 is like 32mpg.

$62 registration
$64 HUF

Hybrids and especially EV cars (ie: Tesla's) get hit hard

I understand it but it still seems like they're punishing people who drive fuel efficient cars

 

[lxskllr]

Roads aren't gonna build themselves. Perhaps a staged intro into taxation to encourage fuel economy would be better, but eventually, they're gonna have to get road money from somewhere, and it should be the people using the roads.

 

[sdifox]

LoL 25mpg is considered high efficiency?

 

[JEDI]

Roads aren't gonna build themselves. Perhaps a staged intro into taxation to encourage fuel economy would be better, but eventually, they're gonna have to get road money from somewhere, and it should be the people using the roads.

Like i said, i understand it but it feels like i'm being penalized for driving a fuel efficient car.

Raise the gas tax so people who drive gas guzzlers pay more to meet the same $ amount the state needs to fix roads?

 

[dullard]

Like i said, i understand it but it feels like i'm being penalized for driving a fuel efficient car.

Raise the gas tax so people who drive gas guzzlers pay more to meet the same $ amount the state needs to fix roads?

So heavy EVs that do similar damage to the roads as heavy gas guzzlers shouldn't pay a penny for the roads?

Use fees are about as fair of a fee as possible. Those who use the roads pay for the roads.

 

[Ajay]

LoL 25mpg is considered high efficiency?

Yeah, that's pretty ridiculous. My Camry gets better fuel economy than that.

 

[Ajay]

So heavy EVs that do similar damage to the roads as heavy gas guzzlers shouldn't pay a penny for the roads?

That's an easy fix. If the vehicle is listed as a PHEV or BEV, add an additional tax. Or, be a bass awkward as Virginia seems to be.

 

[dullard]

That's an easy fix. If the vehicle is listed as a PHEV or BEV, add an additional tax. Or, be a bass awkward as Virginia seems to be.

Seems like that is what Virginia did. They added an additional tax for the vehicles that have been paying less to use the roads since they pay less gas tax. The only real improvement that I can see is to make it mileage based. Show your odometer reading and base the tax on that.

 

[nakedfrog]

Like i said, i understand it but it feels like i'm being penalized for driving a fuel efficient car.

Raise the gas tax so people who drive gas guzzlers pay more to meet the same $ amount the state needs to fix roads?

The people who drive gas guzzlers are already using more fuel, and thus paying more gas tax.

 

[Ajay]

Seems like that is what Virginia did. They added an additional tax for the vehicles that have been paying less to use the roads since they pay less gas tax. The only real improvement that I can see is to make it mileage based. Show your odometer reading and base the tax on that.

Eh, unless I'm blind, it just goes by MPG ratings.

 

[dullard]

Eh, unless I'm blind, it just goes by MPG ratings.

Yes, exactly. Those who have high MPG have been paying very little gas tax and using the roads for free or nearly free. So, Virginia did what you proposed and added an additional tax to compensate.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sadly not surprised. When you find a way to save money, they'll just get you some other way. It's a matter of time until they start to punish EV users too.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Roads aren't gonna build themselves. Perhaps a staged intro into taxation to encourage fuel economy would be better, but eventually, they're gonna have to get road money from somewhere, and it should be the people using the roads.

That's what property taxes, sales tax, income tax etc should be getting used for. We already pay more than enough tax they just need to learn how to budget better. Or reduce those taxes, then the road tax is a bit more justifiable.

 

[nakedfrog]

That's what property taxes, sales tax, income tax etc should be getting used for. We already pay more than enough tax they just need to learn how to budget better. Or reduce those taxes, then the road tax is a bit more justifiable.

It's a shame your education system failed you.

 

[Torn Mind]

Based on the party of the sponsor(Eileen Filler-Corn)...looks like it's just about the money...

Government cannot function without money; it always seeks sources of money, but it can't usually "do business" like non-government...so it's stuck chasing...taxes...income tax usually. Thus, the "subconcious" incentive in government is to get more and more high income people.

I have little doubt this is a NOVA-centric tax. lots of high income areas area the District. Plenty of tiny cars and EVs bought by the well-to-do to tax. It functions like a personal property tax but not called that.

NOVA folks are higher income, is a place surrounded by other higher income people, and the folks in NoVA voted for heavy taxation. Can't complain when the boss introduces more taxes due to the collective consent of the "people".

 

[Red Squirrel]

Government operates very similar to a mafia. They just extort money from you because they can, and if you don't pay, there are severe punishment.

Then they burn that money and laugh at us over caviar, on a private jet.

 

[sdifox]

Government operates very similar to a mafia. They just extort money from you because they can, and if you don't pay, there are severe punishment.

Then they burn that money and laugh at us over caviar, on a private jet.

Says the man whose entire existence has been subsidized by urban dwellers.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Says the man whose entire existence has been subsidized by urban dwellers.

Nobody is subsidizing me, I work for everything I have and I pay more than my fair share in infrastructure via high taxes and high utility bills.

 

[sdifox]

Nobody is subsidizing me, I work for everything I have and I pay more than my fair share in infrastructure via high taxes and high utility bills.

Your net Ontario tax burden is negative. Meaning the government pays you to live in Timmins. Hell, you worked at a hospital, that means I paid your salary.

 

[Ajay]

That's what property taxes, sales tax, income tax etc should be getting used for. We already pay more than enough tax they just need to learn how to budget better. Or reduce those taxes, then the road tax is a bit more justifiable.

Do you pay gas taxes in Canukistan?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Do you pay gas taxes in Canukistan?

Built in gas tax, then regular HST, then carbon tax. They all stack up too so you are actually paying tax on a tax. This also affects prices of everything since everything gets delivered by truck.

This gets into more details: https://www.taxpayer.com/media/Gas-Tax-Honesty-Report-2023.pdf

 

[Torn Mind]

That's what property taxes, sales tax, income tax etc should be getting used for. We already pay more than enough tax they just need to learn how to budget better. Or reduce those taxes, then the road tax is a bit more justifiable.

You don't count, you live in Canadia, Kanuckistan.

Unlike you loyalists and Francos, our states are true states with 50 different flavors.


OP's bill is no different from the flat 125 Maryland charges for registration renewal. Maybe NoVa no longers feels the need to compete on price against MD(for good reason, because liberal NoVA is nicer than MoCo or the shithole PG)

Also, everyone in the DMV is garbage in terms of driving, MD, VA, DC.

 

[BoomerD]

Like i said, i understand it but it feels like i'm being penalized for driving a fuel efficient car.

Raise the gas tax so people who drive gas guzzlers pay more to meet the same $ amount the state needs to fix roads?

Why should other people pay for your roads? The only other "fair" way to do it is to charge you by the mile.

LoL 25mpg is considered high efficiency?

LOL...I'm happy when my truck gets 21 mpg.

 

[IronWing]

Curb weight x miles x rate = tax strikes me as a reasonable way to pay for roads . If we want a sin tax on carbon on top of that to pay for climate change mitigation, okay.

 

[Exterous]

Roads aren't gonna build themselves. Perhaps a staged intro into taxation to encourage fuel economy would be better, but eventually, they're gonna have to get road money from somewhere, and it should be the people using the roads.

I would agree but that isn't usually what these fees are about. They might be to slow the bleeding of rapidly draining road maintenance coffers in a few places but it seems like a lot of the time its a cash grab or a way to virtue signal that someone is making the libs 'pay their fair share'

State and federal transportation agencies estimate that trucks are responsible for between 35% and 40% of highway maintenance costs even though they account for less than 10% of miles driven.

(Snip)

The federal government imposes special taxes on trucks in recognition of the damage they do to the roads. There’s a 12% sales tax on tractors and trailers, a weight tax for heavy trucks and a tax on large tires. The gas tax is also higher for diesel fuel.

Those taxes don’t cover their total impact on pavements, congestion, safety or pollution, according to a study by David Austin of the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan scorekeeper of Congress.

Trucks Are Clogging America’s Roads, Delivering Goods and Tearing up Yards

The surge won’t likely die down even once supply chain clogs ease, and the impact is falling heavily on neighborhood streets.

www.wsj.com