As a North Carolina citizen and a proud driver of a 2010 Prius, I now find myself in the cross-hairs of our state's new Republican General Assembly.
The gory details are in this link.
For more, join me on the other side of the hieroglyphic.
To make a long story short, the latest state budget now under consideration by the state Senate calls for increases in registration fees for vehicle owners. Drivers of cars with conventional engines have to pay $50 extra. Drivers of electric and hybrid cars pay $100 extra.
Declining revenue from the gas tax, which is used to finance road repair, is offered as the rationale for this discriminatory tax.
I'm really steamed about this. As driver of a hybrid car I reduce auto emissions and help reduce air pollution. I also decrease our country's dependence on foreign oil. Now the state wants me to give them back the money I save on gasoline. Why pick on hybrid drivers like me? I'm a retiree living on two pension checks and a monthly withdrawal from my IRA.
There is hope of stopping this. The state House version of the budget does not contain this discriminatory tax on hybrid and electric car owners.
Let them make up the revenue difference some other way. We hybrid and electric car owners don't deserve this.