Have to admit I saw this one coming. Washington state is considering taxing people by the mile. As you may or may not know, the federal government is requiring all car companies to have an average of 54.5 mpg in their lineup by 2025. This is another argument considering many cars sitting on dealer lots are currently in the 20-30 mpg range and 2025 isn’t that far away but I digress. According to Washington drivers are spending less at the pump and they are blaming fuel efficient vehicles; not the cost of fuel which is at an average of $3.419 as of today in their state.

There are [url= http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/mid/1508/articleId/1059/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/Default.aspx]polls out there[/url] that show as much as one-third of car owners (32%) report they have an interest in purchasing a hybrid vehicle and 23% say that their interest in hybrids has increased from a year ago. Yet, even as new car buyers look more deeply into alternative fuel options, traditional combustion engine vehicles still get the nod by more than half (59%) of consumers as a vehicle choice they will consider for their next purchase.

Some dealers I talk to have told me you need to drive typical hybrid car 70,000 miles to break even on the additional cost to buy a hybrid over a typical combustion engine. So while you have a poll with peoples opinions on hybrids what you lack is people actually ponying up for these cars.

Finally what is yet unclear is how they will monitor – or how they will further spy on you. According to the source article such a tax could be implemented through yearly odometer checks using tolling devices that were tested during a study four years ago, or through a system similar to the existing Good to Go pass.

So, here is some food for thought. You pay extra for a hybrid. Some cars use electricity to plug in and now you can add 1.5 cents per mile, the current tax rate being discussed, and this is an added cost in actually owning a hybrid.

I would like to see a new poll asking people if they would consider a hybrid if they knew everyone was to be taxed per mile regardless. Or perhaps the poll could ask them how attractive the hybrid looks if you were to add $1,125.00 to the final agreed price which is how much the tax would cost you if you drove 15,000 miles a year for 5 years. Keep in mind taxes rarely go down, especially the “small” taxes that you don’t give much thought to.

Also, will they be dropping the current fuel tax or adding this? Is the fuel tax for hybrids or everyone.

Go ahead, take a wild guess.



Poll: State mulls pay-by-mile gas tax in response to fuel-efficient cars

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