1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Prius tax enacted this week in Alabama

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by SuzyGS, Jan 2, 2020.

  1. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    the 97% who drive inefficient vehicles
     
    SuzyGS likes this.
  2. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    21,594
    11,212
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    I'd say it is more the politicians don't have the nerve to raise fuel taxes, and want to look like they are doing something to address infrastructure.
     
    Rmay635703 likes this.
  3. mistermojorizin

    mistermojorizin Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2019
    310
    135
    0
    Location:
    usa
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    I saw this a while ago:
    Even California imposes new fee on electric cars in lieu of gas taxes

    The article says it's only for EV, but I've not been able to figure out if the law actually applies to PHEV as well. I hope it's just EV, cause I still buy a lot of gas (drive 80-100 miles a day).
     
  4. SuzyGS

    SuzyGS Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2017
    138
    66
    0
    Location:
    Hampton Cove AL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Base
    I'm the OP. I appreciate the discussion.

    I own two Priuses, both purchased used: a 2008 Prius for my college student daughter and a 2012 Plug In for myself. Alabama is a state where almost all the legislators are proud to claim they hate "liberals" (i.e., tree-huggers, Prius owners, etc.) and I'm sure they were tickled pink to stick it to the electric vehicle owners.

    My vehicle keeps up with how many gallons of gas it has saved me since I bought it in 2018. 67.1 gallons saved over 2.5 years. So at $.18 tax per gallon, I've "cheated" the state of Alabama out of $11.11 in gas taxes, or 37 cents per month. As punishment for being a "liberal" Prius owner, I will have to pay 2,252.24% of what would have been my gas tax had the car not been a plug in. There's no justification for that.

    I read the 7,000 electric vehicle owners in the state of Virginia rose up when the same thing happened to them and got the law repealed.

    Alabama probably doesn't have anything close to that number (just guessing). So the political cost is practically zero here and in fact, the legislators may have further ingratiated themselves with their other constituents.

    I figured it would take either a class action lawsuit based on unequal treatment to turn this around, or better, a lawsuit from Toyota and other electric vehicle manufacturers. The state of Alabama would be no match against these auto companies. Here is the response I received:

    "Dear Mrs. Stephens,

    Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and for owning a 2012 Prius Plug-In.

    We appreciate you making us aware of your concern and sharing your position with our Headquarters office. We encourage you to share your feedback with the elected officials in your state.

    Your contact has been documented at our National Headquarters.

    Sincerely,

    Desirae D.
    Toyota Customer Experience Center"

    I expressed my extreme disappointment in this lame response. It would be in Toyota's best interest to sic their corporate lawyers on this law. Sadly, they were not interested in helping their customers fight an unfair retroactive law. By the way, Alabama just passed a controversial gas tax increase which guarantees the tax will keep rising.

    I am disgusted with Alabama and Toyota today.

    And for the record, IMO, the only fair way to tax vehicles for road repair is to assess taxes based solely on miles driven and vehicle weight. As Bill Norton mentioned previously, as a Prius Plugin owner who gets only 9 miles per charge, I and other PIP owners are the most unfairly treated by this new law.
     
    benagi and bisco like this.
  5. SuzyGS

    SuzyGS Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2017
    138
    66
    0
    Location:
    Hampton Cove AL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Base
    Well said!
     
    bisco likes this.
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    unfortunately, in a standoff between the current administrations epa and california, toyota sided with the administration for economic reasons.
     
  7. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,603
    8,036
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    i think bob


    .
     
  8. Bill Norton

    Bill Norton Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2012
    1,810
    591
    0
    Location:
    MONW, Ks.
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    This may not be a 'fair way' to tax if the numbers were to favor a large vehicle compared to a Prius.
    Plus the expense of inspecting/logging yearly mileage. How would that work?

    IMO, just tax that smelly fuel. And make our bridges and roads, not so ,,,, 3rd World.
    Are we waiting for the next bridge collapse before 'Infrastructure Improvement' becomes a popular use of Taxes?

    Right, they have to play the 'Popularity Contest'.

    Fuel is cheap right now. We have it good compared to other industrialized nations.
    Raise the Federal Fuel Tax. Relax guys, it won't happen for a long time.....

    For the good of all, we need to discourage fuel inefficiency.
    Some people don't like that. So let them pay for their fuel hogs. Is another $1-2 per fill up going to hurt so bad?
    Until then, having better roads, bridges and jobs would be great!
     
  9. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2005
    2,542
    2,485
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Alabama is most likely still trying to recover from Hurricane Dorian. So the extra tax on fuel efficient cars. I heard Hummers are making a come back.
     
  10. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    21,594
    11,212
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    As an EV, if it happens.
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
  12. SuzyGS

    SuzyGS Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2017
    138
    66
    0
    Location:
    Hampton Cove AL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Base
    Wondering what's next? Will the legislators start taxing all cars based on overall fuel efficiency? The better the gas mileage, the higher the annual license tax?
     
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    not if they're gas only. a certain amount of prejudice against hybrids is also seen in the pedestrian warning system law.
     
    huskers likes this.
  14. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,603
    8,036
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    the most Fair Way would be to build the cost into tires. Little car, lightweight, means less road wear & tax, versus bigger tires / more axles - 18-wheeler. More new Tires? means more driving & rightfully more tax. This way it doesn't matter if it's EV, natural gas, hydrogen, propane, diesel, two wheels or more.
    .
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  15. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2005
    2,542
    2,485
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Yes, makes it so much harder to sneak up on pedestrians with that noise. By the way, there is a squirrel in your bird feeder.
     
    bisco likes this.
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    drat! and i'm 500 miles from home (n)
     
  17. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2005
    2,783
    1,151
    0
    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    We have friends who recently moved from California to Alabama, and I suspect that getting away from all those ***** liberals was a major reason. And they lived in the Republican-leaning Central Valley.
     
  18. Bill Norton

    Bill Norton Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2012
    1,810
    591
    0
    Location:
    MONW, Ks.
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I my best Homer Simpson voice:
    "Stupid
    , always caring about all people, and not just 'Me and Mine'....
    They also say, 'People before Profits', Phooie"....:LOL:
     
    #58 Bill Norton, Jan 16, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2020
  19. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,490
    14,095
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    That's really close to the most fair way. Probably easier to implement than my idea even though drivers would pitch a fit about the higher cost of new tires.

    I made this suggestion in another thread about this topic. Here it is again:
    The vast majority of road damage comes from big trucks. Most of the rest is just from the weather. Cars cause almost no damage except when they crash into fuel tankers causing huge fires that melt the bridges. If the trucking industry paid for road repairs that they caused, that expense would get passed on to the customers in the form of higher prices for the goods carried by the trucks. That way, the only ones paying for the road repairs are the ones whose purchases generated the road damage. Then you could add a nominal annual fee to car registrations that would account for the inevitable breaking down of roads whether the road gets used or not.
     
    Trollbait likes this.