California lawmakers are considering adding a tax on the most polluting vehicles and using the money to provide rebates to the cleanest vehicles. Buying large SUVs and gas-guzzling cars that emit the most greenhouse gases relative to their category would cost consumers up to $2,500, while the cars that pollute the least would receive rebates of up to the same amount.
The bill has received support from Silicon Valley and would be tax-neutral for the state. While it is viewed as penalizing large families, smaller SUVs and other vehicles that are cleaner than average would be eligible for rebates. Large families have tax advantages, and people who choose to have several children and/or to buy gas guzzlers should expect to pay a price.
Popular thinking is shifting so that lawmakers and the public is understanding that the amount of fuel is only part of the cost of owning a vehicle. Levying emissions taxes that quantify the environmental and health damage caused by pollution is getting more likely for transportation and industry. Look for more of this once the environmentally-indifferent Bush administration says its goodbyes.
Source: Columbus Dispatch
