Gas tax may be next Tea Party target

[AzNMpower32]

State in the US (and actually the US in general) does not levy the graduated road tax based on emissions because we're just not that environmentally friendly and everyone would raise their arms in protest.

Many states have a flat annual vehicle registration fee dependent on classes of vehicles. For most of us, it's "passenger vehicle" and "light truck" and while the definition varies, the cost usually isn't substantial. Some states also levy a property tax on vehicles (just like one's real estate), that goes to the county or city government. There is often a motor vehicle tax or sales tax (one-time only) upon purchase of a vehicle or transfer of title to another state. There is a wide variance between jurisdictions.

Example:
Purchase $50.000 BMW X5, pay 3% VA Motor Vehicle tax----> money goes to roads.
Annual VA state registration: $47,50 (annual) for light trucks---->admin fee.
Annual Halifax County property tax: 3,6% of depreciated/assessed value----->local govt.

[X5Sport]

Currently in the UK for a new X6, as an example coz I recently bought one, we pay.

Purchase price +20% VAT: Approx £12,000
First Registration Fee: £80
First Year Purchase Tax levy on Vehicle Excise Duty: £450
Annual VED: £260. Emissions based, but there's a 'Diesel' Levy. X6 40d is two bands lower than E53 30d as cleaner.
Annual Road safety check: £55. (comes in after 3 years)
Fuel Duty and VAT of approx 80% on EACH litre of fuel (Currently around £1.38/litre) so Direct Fuel Taxation is around £0.90p.
Insurance Tax Levy - on each and every policy.
No asset taxes
If it's a Company Car then the tax can be £000's a year and is based on your current PAYE tax code. It's much worse if you add options to the car.

Owning and running a 'Luxury Car' in the UK is very expensive. And the UK Government has the Fuel Escalator which adds more Tax twice a year. We're not quite the most expensive in Europe, but it's going that way.

One thing that has annoyed more than a few owners is that there was a big push about 20 years ago to get people to buy Diesel engined cars as they were much more efficient compared to petrol and diesel fuel was significantly cheaper. Change of Government and a new 3% Diesel Levy came in on Fuel and Road Tax. Diesl is now more expensive than Petrol, and about the same as Premium 99 RON petrol. That caught thousands of owners out.