Comments on: Auto Registration: Soak the Rich http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/ Life. Liberty. Property. Defending individual freedom and liberty, one post at a time. Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:29:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Nick http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1246 Nick Tue, 30 May 2006 11:14:16 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1246 the beauty of the gas tax is that it incorporates weight and mileage into it. no calculus necessary.

more weight, worse gas mileage (for themost part). More distance, more gas used. ergo, both eight and distance are accounted for by gas taxes.

]]> By: James http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1214 James Sat, 27 May 2006 06:52:01 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1214 Its the same broken logic that leads to sin taxes. You pick a group that people dont like and dump all your taxes on them.

Here in Texas they just lowered property taxes but raised taxes on cigarettes a dollar a pack to finance the schools. Of course not many people care much who dont smoke because smokers have been so demonized the last decade.

Why should anyone pay for schools other than the people who have children attending them? All taxation and fees should be based on access/usages . Making others pay your way because they are rich or belong to an unpopular group is wrong.

]]> By: Brad Warbiany http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1211 Brad Warbiany Fri, 26 May 2006 17:19:28 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1211 KJ,
I’m not saying there’s a 1-to-1 relationship between cost and weight. Frankly, my ideal would be a purely gas-tax based system, where the registration fee was maybe $25 to cover the cost of registering and record-keeping, and that’s it. (FYI, I drive a truck that’s not very gas-efficient or valuable, so a gas tax proposal is actually not beneficial to me personally).

But I think if we’re trying to be intellectually honest, we should charge people based on the damage they cause instead of the value of their vehicle. It at least has *SOME* rational basis, where taxing more for expensive vehicles is just soaking the rich.

]]> By: KJ http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1210 KJ Fri, 26 May 2006 16:59:40 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1210 Brad, an expensive Porshe is light compared to lots of cheap vehicles. A Lexus/BMW/Mercedes car is also lighter than a much cheaper low end minivan. There isn’t a pure relationship between weight and costs. The double counting objection doesn’t work. Your system seems fair if the goal is to nexus road maintenence to vehicles. Of course, amount of use is more important than any of these factors, making gas tax (except for hybrids or alternative fuel vehicles) the most accurate tax. Maybe we should make this really simple and just tax based on a simple calculas based formula relying on weight, mileage, and state v. interstate use.

]]> By: Brad Warbiany http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1208 Brad Warbiany Thu, 25 May 2006 19:01:34 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1208 Smith,

I accidentally misplaced my magical Rothbardian “end-the-state-immediately” button. Until I find it, I’m just going to have to stick with good old persuasion… Unless you happen to have a spare button I could use?

]]> By: LOTE-Smith http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1207 LOTE-Smith Thu, 25 May 2006 18:28:25 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1207 Or better yet, why not totally do away with fuel, property, registration and all other taxes and fees.

Then true freedom would occur.

]]> By: ashley http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1204 ashley Thu, 25 May 2006 08:24:55 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1204 Florida does (did?) tax by weight.

]]> By: Doug http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1202 Doug Wed, 24 May 2006 03:47:16 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/05/23/auto-registration-soak-the-rich/#comment-1202 Brad,

It could be worse. Come to Virginia. The annual registration fees through DMV are relatively cheap, but each year every car owner is required to pay, at the county level, a personal property tax based on the value of their vehicle.

About 8 years ago, Jim Gilmore won election as Governor on the promise of abolishing the car tax. He came close, but not close enough, and, slowly but surely, the politcos in Richmond from both sides of the aisle have turned the so-called car tax “relief” that was passed back then into little more than a joke.

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