Fuel prices and taxes.... (what’s the American point of view about europe?)

[Dim]

Hi Jeepers,

Just wanna have your opinion about our fuel and taxes rates ....
For exemple what would say an American if your government use the same rates as i have here in Belgium....

Fuel price :

Gas 1,45€ / Liter ( 1,65$ for 1 liter ( 0,264 Gallon) or 6,2$/gallon
Diesel 1,56€ / Liter ( 1,78$ for 1 liter or 6,73$/ gallon)

Taxes ( based on a JLU 3,6 V6)

Road Fund Taxes ( once at the purchase) : 5699$
Motor Véhicule Duty ( every year) : 1813 $

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[Sean L]

Hi Jeepers,

Just wanna have your opinion about our fuel and taxes rates ....
For exemple what would say an American if your government use the same rates as i have here in Belgium....

Fuel price :

Gas 1,45€ / Liter ( 1,65$ for 1 liter ( 0,264 Gallon) or 6,2$/gallon
Diesel 1,56€ / Liter ( 1,78$ for 1 liter or 6,73$/ gallon)

Taxes ( based on a JLU 3,6 V6)

Road Fund Taxes ( once at the purchase) : 5699$
Motor Véhicule Duty ( every year) : 1813 $

Our economy took a big hit when fuel prices got to $4 per gallon. It would take a long time to recover if it got up to 6 per.

So at purchase we would pay a sales tax based on a percentage of the sale, that varies state by state.

Is the Motor Vehicle Duty that expensive for all vehicles? Thats about 7 times what I would pay yearly in Property tax and vehicle registration fees...

 

[Jondrew]

I think I’d have kept my Honda.

 

[Dim]

Our economy took a big hit when fuel prices got to $4 per gallon. It would take a long time to recover if it got up to 6 per.

So at purchase we would pay a sales tax based on a percentage of the sale, that varies state by state.

Is the Motor Vehicle Duty that expensive for all vehicles? Thats about 7 times what I would pay yearly in Property tax and vehicle registration fees...

Hi Sean,
I agree so sad that our politics doesn’t understand things like that

About Motor Véhicule Duty that dépends about the Fiscal’power of the véhicule for the south part of the country and CO2 rates for the north part .

For example :

A 2.0 liter TDi with 140hp : around 500$ in the south and around 300 in the north

For a Tesla it’s : 90$ in the south and ... 0 in the north

And for someone who like a nice muscle car with a gorgeous V8 6.4 like a challenger .... south it’s the max : around 3800$/year and 4800$/year in north

;-)

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

Obviously it would be very unpopular. The reason countries in Europe and other places tax fuels so heavily is to discourage individual vehicle ownership and use. For a variety of reasons including environmental concerns, wear and tear on infrastructure, overcrowding, safety, and others. The US population wouldn’t respond well to any of these concerns because as a culture we generally don’t care about any of that stuff, only that we can do whatever we want whether it’s beneficial to the greater good for not, consequences be damned. The way the government and political system work, most elected officials will do what they can to keep any taxes as low as possible so as to stay in the graces of their electorate or risk losing reelection.

In a word, because we only care about what we want and not what’s good for us or other people. Generally speaking.

 

[Dim]

Obviously it would be very unpopular. The reason countries in Europe and other places tax fuels so heavily is to discourage individual vehicle ownership and use. For a variety of reasons including environmental concerns, wear and tear on infrastructure, overcrowding, safety, and others. The US population wouldn’t respond well to any of these concerns because as a culture we generally don’t care about any of that stuff, only that we can do whatever we want whether it’s beneficial to the greater good for not, consequences be damned. The way the government and political system work, most elected officials will do what they can to keep any taxes as low as possible so as to stay in the graces of their electorate or risk losing reelection.

In a word, because we only care about what we want and not what’s good for us or other people. Generally speaking.

Yeah probably.
i think , about my country, if government loose every taxes they have about cars... seriously i’m not sure that the budget will be in balance.... cars is considered as the big wallet for government.

actually they speak about ecology ... just to be able to take more money.

it’s true that we have some congestions issues on our big cities ( at the scale of my place ;-) belgium is only 10 millions of people ;-) in a place almost 2O times smaller than texas ( lucky you by the way ;-) but public transportations aren’t good and not well managed so no alternative.

and about ecology... it’s just a joke they dont even believe in what they say..... we only receive our first hybrid buses..... and apparently it doesnt work because buses drivers aren’t trained to use it ... ha ha ha

 

[Sean L]

Hi Sean,
I agree so sad that our politics doesn’t understand things like that

About Motor Véhicule Duty that dépends about the Fiscal’power of the véhicule for the south part of the country and CO2 rates for the north part .

For example :

A 2.0 liter TDi with 140hp : around 500$ in the south and around 300 in the north

For a Tesla it’s : 90$ in the south and ... 0 in the north

And for someone who like a nice muscle car with a gorgeous V8 6.4 like a challenger .... south it’s the max : around 3800$/year and 4800$/year in north

;-)

I can see that is is geared towards pushing people to smaller vehicles or taking public transit. It can be beneficial to large cities, but in the US that is a trend that is occurring without such heavy fees. It would be very unfair to the people that don't live in big cities however. Especially for a Farm that relies on heavy equipment to operate effectively. A Prius is not a good hauler for your livestock...

That being said, in North Carolina where I live your motor vehicle registration fee is tied to how large your vehicle is. With my old Pickup I paid easily twice as much as I paid for my wife's car. Now that I have the Jeep I pay a good bit less in registration fees, but since it's a new vehicle my property tax has gone up.

 

[wrangler-rob]

The only other consideration worth noting is mass transit infrastructure. Generally speaking the EU has better mass transit infrastructure which (hopefully) offsets the need for driving as much as we "need" to here in the States. I live in one of the most densely populated areas of the country NYC suburb and our transit system is still woeful comparatively speaking, more so when you consider the cost of using said system. just food for thought... Unlike the bulk of Europe and Japan which had an opportunity to build up a proper transit system we were never really afforded such an opportunity here. Lipstick on the old WWII pig I suppose. Per the above, sucks that politics would impede upon choice but that is always the case regardless of where you live.... Constant is politicians are only ever concerned with their next election and therefore always suck!

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