It's time
California got serious about tackling gas guzzlers. Although
mileage has improved, the boom in SUV use is a serious slide
backwards. We need a progressive Vehicle License Fee (VLF) that is
based on mileage instead of car valuation. My proposal is to make
it revenue neutral - so we tax the guzzlers while giving discounts
for efficient vehicles.
I would suggest 40 miles per gallon as the benchmark at
which the VLF stays roughly where it is today. Any consumer vehicle
(car or SUV) that gets less than 40 mpg pays a tax that increases
non-linearly, such that there would be substantial penalties for a
20 mpg vehicle. (For example, a vehicle getting 20 mpg should pay
an annual VLF that is 5 times that of a vehicle that gives 40 mpg).
On the other side, the VLF should diminish to zero for a vehicle
that gives 60 mpg. A similar proposal also for electric cars. I am already
seeing wasteful trends in EVs where greenwashing is rampant with
e-guzzlers like the Porsche Taycan or Audi e-tron. I propose again
here a benchmark of 125 MPGe. The VLF should increase
punishingly as the MPGe goes down.
The VLF
formulae should be adjusted annually to account for technology
improvements. Anyone is
free to buy the car of their choice, but they must pay for the
consequences of their pollution. The VLF could be renamed as a
pollution license fee. Good policy will help nudge both consumers
and industry to effectively respond to the climate crisis. We need
to move past slogans and do something tangible.
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