WA State to impose a $75 on hybrids

Crude is not selling for negative prices anymore. It was selling negative much of one trading day and a portion of the next, for May deliveries only. But that is now long gone, it is back up to about $17 for deliveries for now and June only.

 

Some states are taxing hybrids as a fuel tax replacements. Washington State previously imposed such a tax on EVs, not hybrids.

But that isn't the gist of this thread. This isn't at all about making up for lost fuel taxes for road building and maintenance. This new tax is about funding charging infrastructure for plug-in vehicles. But oddly, this tax is being charged on not just EVs and PHEVs, but also on regular non-plugin hybrids. I.e. hybrids are being taxed for charging infrastructure they cannot use.

 

Honestly, this tax should be on all vehicles (BEV, PHEVs, HEVs, gassers) as everyone benefits from the clean air of electric driving. The lockdowns have shown us the real, tangible benefits in reduced air pollution from getting millions of gassers off the road. We could have those benefits all the time in a world of BEV/PHEVs. We should do everything to accelerate that trend.

Less pollution over the US as coronavirus shuts down public places, satellite images show - CNN
Traffic and Pollution Plummet as U.S. Cities Shut Down for Coronavirus - The New York Times

 

Any plug in on grid energy is going to beat the Prius in terms carbon emissions in Boston, and they will in much of the country.

New Data Show Electric Vehicles Continue to Get Cleaner - Union of Concerned Scientists


Just using natural gas in a car will clean up its exhaust compared to gasoline. It simply burns cleaner because there is less carbon. A power plant, by its nature, can also take advantage of technology and techniques of emission control that simply aren't available for a car. It is also easier to enforce regulations on hundreds of power plants than millions of cars; some states don't even bother smog checking cars on a regular basis.

Then the trend in the US is moving to cleaner sources for electricity. between a BEV and any ICE car bought today, the BEV will likely get cleaner, and the ICE will definitely get dirtier as its catalytic converter wears out.

 

Not sure I follow your logic. You put a fee or tax on something you want to discourage people from using, like tobacco, alcohol, or gas guzzlers. You don't tax or allow a tax credit for something you want to encourage the use of, like BEVs. Taxing them when gasoline prices are low does not accelerate that trend.

 

Yet for some reason, our Legislature didn't extend this to the gassers.