Fuel Tax

133 hurt, 412 arrested in riot over taxes intended to help environment

The average California motorist will see transportation costs rise by about $10 a month.

Naval warfare, aerial warfare, logistical warfare, cyber warfare. There are as many ways to wage war as there are stars in the sky, but economic warfare is perhaps one of the most misunderstood. It's rarely as overt as bombing factories or sinking freighters, featuring more subtle, domestic maneuvers.

The fund that the United States uses for the maintenance of its roads is increasingly falling short, and one of the main reasons is the more efficient cars we drive today. As fuel economy improves, the amount raised by the nation's gas taxes falls, and it is those taxes that pay for much of the highway upkeep in the country. That leaves the question of how we continue to maintain the roads.

The push for more diesel vehicles in North America is finally starting to pick up momentum from non-German automakers like Chrysler, General Motors and Mazda, but there are still hurdles automakers face in winning over American car buyers. To combat this, The Detroit News says that Volkswa

States and municipalities are getting creative as they look for ways to raise tax revenues from electric cars. More and more plug-in vehicles are on the roads each year, and as gasoline-engine vehicles become more fuel efficient, there's simply less fuel tax revenue coming in. New Jersey is considering a tax scheme that will seem more reasonable to some and unfair to others.

In a move likely to cause an uproar across Portland-area coffeehouses, Oregon's state legislature is again considering instituting a per-mile tax on super-fuel-efficient cars and electric vehicles. The state is looking to recuperate revenue lost because more fuel efficient vehicles on the road result in fewer dollars being collected from gas taxes.

Tragedy is a relative concept. Some would call it a tragedy that, while Italy makes some of the most desirable (and gas-guzzling) cars on the market, it also has some of the highest fuel prices in Europe. But that unfortunate reality is far overshadowed by the two earthquakes that have struck the country's Emilia-Romagna region, killing 24 people in total. Now the fledgling government tasked with steering the troubled country into financial health is forced to raise fuel taxes even higher to rel

Higher CAFE standards force manufacturers to build cars that get better mileage, or at least adjust the mix of vehicles they sell. In the decades since the first set of CAFE standards were imposed, we've gone from an average fuel economy of just 13.1 mpg to a less-awful 22.5 mpg. As time goes on, that value will increase, as the Obama administration recently set a target of Mark Sumner

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MN-DOT) is looking to recruit 500 residents of Wright and Hennepin counties to test technology that could eventually be used to collect a mileage-based user fee (MBUF) in lieu of the state's gasoline tax. Cory Johnson, MN-DOT project manager, claims that:

On Saturday, China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the State Administration of Taxation decided to eliminate consumption taxes on vegetable oil- and animal fat-based biodiesel. The move is aimed at promoting the use of renewable energy sources and lessening the nation's need for petroleum-based fuels. Additionally, Chinese officials believe that increased use of biodiesel will protect the country's environment by reducing harmful auto-related emissions.

One fact seems indisputable: Americans have come to hate taxes and any suggestion by a politician to raise them is tantamount to political suicide. The problem is that public infrastructure requires funding – and lots of it. Critics of this disparity would argue that a lack of political will to raise fuel taxes has left roads, bridges and tunnels across America crumbling in recent decades.

Passenger cars and light-duty trucks will be subjected to stringent new emission standards in the near future. Heavy-duty vehicles are not being left out of the mix and will have their own regulations intended to slowly lead to cleaner vehicles delivering goods across the nation. That's a good thing.

The cosmic oil-consumption scales have been tipping back and forth a lot this week. On Tuesday, Nissan revealed that its all-electric Leaf will be priced lower than most of us expected. On Wednesday, President Obama announced that we'll be ramping up our Nik Bristow

Last year, the state of Washington contemplated a tax that would be placed on vehicles dependent upon the displacement of its engine. The displacement tax was eventually discarded but not forgotten. Automakers noted the possibility of this tax cropping up again in the future and marked it in their books.

Making the transition to electrified vehicles will bring with it a vast array of issues that will need to be dealt with. There are, of course, the obvious problems of charging EVs in urban areas and disposal and recycling of batteries. Then there is the problem of taxation. Vehicles need paved roads to travel on. Paving costs a lot of money. While there are some toll roads in the U.S. that drivers pay to traverse, most infrastructure is financed through fuel taxes. The presumption is that the am

2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid - Click above for high-res image gallery

2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid - Click above for high-res image gallery

Recently, the government in the UK decided to raise its fuel duty by 2.12p per liter. While a gas tax increase is rarely popular, this small rise isn't that difficult to overcome, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists. The idea is that a mild change in driving habits can more than make up for the additional cost of fuel.

Executives of large companies by and large tend to skew toward the more conservative side of the political spectrum and generally eschew increased taxes on anything. However, a growing handful (see here) seems to be coming to the same realization of late, a realization that completely escapes most politicians: cheap gas is bad for America, especially if we want the country to move to more efficie