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  • THURSDAY JUNE 14 2007 8:00 PM

Sorry Sir, You're Using the Wrong Kind of Oil

Submitted by blackroseMD1

Edited by erin_broadley



Well, it seems like Vice President Cheney is having his way after all. A man in North Carolina was pulled over and fined for filling his gas tank with the wrong kind of oil.

Bob Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Last fall the Charlotte musician and guitar instructor spent $1,200 to convert his 1981 diesel Mercedes to run on vegetable oil. He bought soybean oil in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about 30 percent more than diesel would cost.

His reward, from a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels: a $1,000 fine last month for not paying motor fuel taxes. He has been told to expect another $1,000 fine from the federal government.


Hmm, and all this time I was led to believe that ending our dependence on foreign oil was a good thing. I guess I wasn't the only one; apparently a North Carolina state senator thought the same:

State Sen. Stan Bingham, R-Denton, is known around Raleigh for his diesel Volkswagen fueled by used soybean oil. The car sports a "Goodbye, OPEC" sign.

"If somebody was going to go to this much trouble to drive around in a car that uses soybean oil, they ought to be exempt"


North Carolina, while being one of the foremost "green" states, still likes to collect it's taxes so...

...officials say they'll keep pursuing taxes on all fuels used in highway vehicles. With its 29.9-cent a gallon gas tax, the state collects $1.2 billion each year to pay for road construction.

"With the high cost of fuel right now, the department does recognize that a lot of people are looking for relief," said Reggie Little, assistant director of the motor fuel taxes division. "We're not here to hurt the small guy, we're just trying to make sure that the playing field is level."


Well that's good to know, since the playing field is so plainly groomed for American drivers, and not Arab oil interests.

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Comments
hellboy7

hellboy7

Austin, TX
July 2004

JUN 14, 2007 08:09 PM

OK, I am not a litigious person, but come on SUE THE GOV'T!!!! This sucks so many bullocks. I think, and I am not a lawyer, that the fuel tax only applies to petrol fuels manufactured by the oil industry. Also, you can't fine the man for not paying his taxes since he payed a sales tax applicable only to the goods he purchased. In other words, you can't tax him twice.

Azkadellia

Azkadellia

South Haven, MI
April 2007

JUN 14, 2007 08:15 PM

I never fail to be amazed at what the goverenment will do for money. This is pretty cool. Itd be awesome if my Jeep ran on veggie oil. That'd be great....

MrStitches

MrStitches

Brooklyn, NY
November 2003

JUN 14, 2007 08:17 PM

Only a terrorist would want to stop helping out our allies in the middle east by not using as much petroleum as they possibly can.

Himes

Himes

Astoria, NY
October 2006

JUN 14, 2007 08:19 PM

What the fuck?! Three cheers for hipocrisy!

Just some quick numbers

the average price of gas in Charlotte is $2.96 plus that wonderful 9/10ths gas tax

Our little musician is paying roughly $2.58 for his veggie mobile per gallon (12 for a costco 5 gal jug of veg oil plus 7.5% sales tax)

But the funny thing is the state is techincally making more money off of him in sales tax. for every gallon he buys at the pump the state gets $0.009

But at costco the state gets $0.18 for every gallon of veggie oil Bob buys - a product he would not buy in such quantities without a super cool veggie car.

so Bob saves money AND the state makes more tax? GWHHAAAA?

This is amazing! the stat makes 20 times more tax off the guy AND they have the balls to slap him with e $1000 fine.

Well that blows my whole plan to relocate to Ashville.

Unless I missed something here.

Nope I was wrong NC collects 29.9 cents of taxes for every gallon. that means they are pulling in just under half of the tax revenue and that's if that shady Kum-bye-ya singing motherfucker even buys his oil

instead of moonshining it from the grease traps of your local veggie diner.

So yeah - fuck him and his tax evading ways. screw him for being outside the status quo.


CherryCoke

CherryCoke

Derry, NH
May 2007

JUN 14, 2007 08:28 PM

I'm not sure how not wanting to hurt the little guy translates into fining the little guy because he found an alternative fuel.

farva

farva

Portland, OR
November 2005

JUN 14, 2007 08:33 PM

I'd tell the govt to blow me. I am not paying taxes on something I don't purchase/consume.

stigmatamartyr13

stigmatamartyr13

Indianapolis, IN
February 2007

JUN 14, 2007 08:37 PM

The first sentence in this story says it all people.

Tinheart

Tinheart

Greenville, NC
October 2004

JUN 14, 2007 08:37 PM

it's things like this that almost make me ashamed to say i live in north carolina. mad

SnowgodCCR

SnowgodCCR

Derry, NH
November 2006

JUN 14, 2007 08:38 PM

Cerwen said:
Itd be awesome if my Jeep ran on veggie oil. That'd be great....



It'd be awesome if Jeep would put out a fucking diesel so we could do so...

You know, it's shit along these lines that led to the revolutionary war....Maybe if we dump all the gasoline into boston harbor the government will get the message?

Erragal

Erragal

Knoxville, TN
October 2004

JUN 14, 2007 08:41 PM

Well I know in Minnesota if you use alternitive fuel in your car that you make yourself you still have to pay road taxes because you still use the road. There is a tax forum you have to fill out quarterly of your mileage and pay the taxes on that, but you also get a tax break at the end of the year for using a alternitive fuel.

Stiles

Stiles

Philadelphia, PA
November 2002

JUN 14, 2007 08:48 PM

hellboy7 said:
I think, and I am not a lawyer, that the fuel tax only applies to petrol fuels manufactured by the oil industry. Also, you can't fine the man for not paying his taxes since he payed a sales tax applicable only to the goods he purchased. In other words, you can't tax him twice.



Wrong-o. Motor fuel tax applies to any fuel used to power an on-highway motor vehicle. Commercially sold untaxed fuels (like home heating oil and off-road diesel for farm tractors and generators) are restricted to off-road use and are usually dyed red to identify them.

Edit: NC does not charge sales tax on motor fuels, only the 29.9 cent tax in addition to the federal motor fuels tax. Some states charge sales tax in addition to state and federal motor fuel taxes.

WVO/SVO on road users can square up by sending a check to their state department of revenue for the amount of road fuel tax owed. Few do. High profile users would be wise to consider it, though because cases like this one will become more common as alt fuel use spreads.

Theoretically, road fuel tax even applies to electric and CNG cars, with the main stumbling block being the method of assessing and collecting tax on the portion of natural gas or electricity used solely for vehicle power.

Stiles

Stiles

Philadelphia, PA
November 2002

JUN 14, 2007 08:52 PM

SnowgodCCR said:

Cerwen said:
Itd be awesome if my Jeep ran on veggie oil. That'd be great....



It'd be awesome if Jeep would put out a fucking diesel so we could do so...




Jeep did ( the Liberty CRD) and does (the Grand Cherokee CRD).

bean

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

JUN 14, 2007 08:52 PM

From the story:

The state Department of Revenue, which fined Teixeira, has asked legislators to waive the $2,500 bond for small fuel users. The department also told Teixeira, after the Observer asked about his case this week, that it will compromise on his fine.


In essence, what they're saying is, "We don't think people like him should be bound to these laws, but as long as they are, we're going to take advantage of that source of revenue."

The blame for this falls squarely on the legislators responsible for legislation correcting the problem from being passed already. It's been introduced, so hopefully the attention this story generates is enough to get them to push it through.

punk

punk

Phoenix, AZ
January 2004

JUN 14, 2007 08:53 PM

Stiles said:

hellboy7 said:
I think, and I am not a lawyer, that the fuel tax only applies to petrol fuels manufactured by the oil industry. Also, you can't fine the man for not paying his taxes since he payed a sales tax applicable only to the goods he purchased. In other words, you can't tax him twice.



Wrong and wrong. Motor fuel tax applies to any fuel used to power an on-highway motor vehicle. Commercially sold untaxed fuels (like home heating oil and off-road diesel for farm tractors and generators) are restricted to off-road use and are usually dyed red to identify them.

As to your second point, motor fuel taxes are levied by state and the federal government in addition to (not in lieu of) any sales taxes.

WVO/SVO on road users can square up by sending a check to their state department of revenue for the amount of road fuel tax owed. Few do. High profile users would be wise to consider it, though because cases like this one will become more common as alt fuel use spreads.

Theoretically, road fuel tax even applies to electric and CNG cars, with the main stumbling block being the method of assessing and collecting tax on the portion of natural gas or electricity used solely for vehicle power.



Can you collect a fuel tax on a fuel source that wasn't sold as a fuel? Hell, can you collect a fuel tax on a fuel that wasn't sold to you by a gas station, period? Not produced by an oil company?

Somehow the idea of being taxed for vegetable oil, just because it's used to power an on-road vehicle, seems...sketchy. Or is this one of those blanket "as long as it fits this broad criteria, it's taxable" laws?

Since vegetable oil is taxed already at the register, can they legally tax it again as fuel? I'm not a lawyer, but I thought I remembered something about double-taxation?

emotedcreations

emotedcreations

Germany
July 2006

JUN 14, 2007 09:00 PM

Stiles said:
...and are usually dyed red to identify them.

That's true. I saw it on CSI.

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