Hybrid Tax Petition Delivered - Two Days Till Decision

Last Monday, Senator Adam Ebbin and I delivered nearly 7,000 signatures on our No Hybrid Tax Petition to Governor Robert McDonnell at the State Capitol in Richmond.  You can read more about it here:

Washington Post, Prius Tax Foes Urge McDonnell to Kill It
Richmond Times Dispatch, Hybrid Tax Foes Take Tax Fight To the Governor

Virginian Pilot - Tea Party Seeks Road Bill Veto, Others Want Hybrid Fee Gone

Roanoke WDBJ7 - More than 6,800 Signatures Against Hybrid Tax Dropped Off at Governor's Office

We delivered the petition to the Governor and his staff told us that he did review the petitions and the over 6,000 comments. 

As of noon today, 7,195 people have signed the petition.  You can still sign up here:

No Hybrid Tax Petition 

The hybrid tax fails to make sense on a number of levels:

• It punishes people for doing the right thing - conserving energy.
• The $100 tax bears no relationship to the gas taxes that are avoided (at most $30/year on a 45 MPG vehicle)
• The Federal and State Government have been encouraging people to purchase hybrid technology while this punishes people.
• Hybrid owners already pay their fair share of taxes including (1) 10% higher price for the car, (2) greater titling taxes, (3) greater personal property taxes, (4) $25/yr. for clean energy license plates, and (5) $3,000+ for a new battery after 150,000 miles.
• The tax is irrational.  There are other vehicles that get better gas mileage than many hybrids such as motor cycles and mopeds.  There are also gas vehicles that get better mileage than most hybrids, and many hybrids that get worse gas mileage than many gas powered cars. 
• It also inordinately punishes Northern Virginia where 82% of hybrids are registered in Virginia.

The Governor has to act by Monday, March 25, 2013. 

Hopefully, he will do the right thing and offer an amendment deleting the hybrid tax from the legislation.