Hybrid Tax

I am currently in the market for a very, very cheap used car. I work at a car dealership so my eyes and ears have been open to new vehicles people are trading in to see if one is suitable for me. I live less than two miles from work so something small works just fine. A few days ago I noticed a small 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid was traded in at work. When I talked to the used car manager of the dealership he mentioned that it sounds like it would be a good fit. All my driving is "city" driving so the hybrid would be the best option. As I have been thinking about this decision it was my wife who brought to my attention that many states are instituting hybrid car taxes and that I should check in VA. Well, after a quick Google search I discovered that VA does in fact charge people who own Hybrids $64 per year in extra fees. This is all part of an effort to regain revenue lost by those who drive hybrids because they will not be buying as much gas as a regular gasoline powered vehicle. I must say that this has practically turned me off from buying a Hybrid car. Not only has the state discouraged people from buying hybrids, they are penalizing those who are trying to save money and/or protect the environment. My main motive here is to just save money.

I can understand the motive behind passing the tax, when people buy more fuel efficient cars they buy gas less, which reduces the governments revenue. So in order to recuperate that loss we need to throw in another tax to prevent the drop in revenue. The problem with it is, it is penalizing only one particular type of car. Since this law appears to only apply to hybrid vehicles, if a vehicle were to achieve the same mpg as a hybrid but run on gasoline alone, would that car be taxed too? It seems that there is a sort of discrimination against hybrid vehicles. As an example, my current beater car gets about 40mpg because it's small and has about 90hp. A new Honda Civic Hybrid is rated at 44mpg. So, with this very slight mpg difference, the hybrid owner is subject to an additional tax and I am not. Also, hybrid cars have higher MSRP and have a higher risk because not only is there a gas motor, there is also an electric motor with a battery that is hugely expensive to repair.

This right here is an example of a government going too far. While in one hand they are encouraging people to drive more fuel efficient cars and on the other penalizing those who drive more efficient cars. It is currently in law that by 2025 cars must achieve an average of 54.5 mpg[1], but by driving more fuel efficient cars they lose money so taxes of another sort will follow. When the American public save over $1.7 trillion at the pump, the government will institute additional taxation to recover that lost revenue.

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[1] http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/28/obama-administration-finalizes-historic-545-mpg-fuel-efficiency-standard