Any new tax would need to be revenue neutral and be compensated by at least an equal reduction in income tax. Otherwise, screw it.

Unfortunately, people who can afford the gas will still continue to buy SUVs. Owning an SUV will therefore remain a status symbol, thereby continuing the demand for them.

All SUVs not for verified work use should be either outlawed, or levied a very significant amount, say $15,000 for every $50,000 of retail value. Also, purchasers of non-work SUVs should have their names published on some sort of environmental criminal list.

To Anon-

Why should it be revenue neutral? It is not a disincentive to buying a guzzler if you know you can deduct the guzzler tax from your income tax.

Or are you suggesting all income taxes be lowered to offset a sales tax on guzzlers, thereby making the new tax's cost a high disincentive? In that case, the gov't would be dependent on a continued steady stream of guzzler sales in order to keep the revenue level the same as before cutting an income tax.

Neither of those will work to stem the purchase and production of gas guzzling vehicles. It is better for the govt to make this an additional heavy burden on those who want to place a heavy burden on society with their use of scarce resource-intensive polluting vehicles.

mike,

We're taxed enough, and our government don't need more money to waste on wars, inefficient bureaucracies and farm subsidies.

If a gallon of gasoline is $8 but I'm paying a few thousand less in tax, I have a choice between spending that money on the new more expensive gas, or using less gas and pocketing the money. I'll bet you that almost everybody will start using a lot less gas without the need to tax them to death (something not politically possible anyway).

brennan is rigt. outlawing suvs is the only fair solution. why should the middle class be stopped driving suvs by tax while the rich just drive on?

sadly no country will outlaw suvs soon. maybe switching public opinion about suvs from jealousy to hate can help to stem the scale of the insanity:
http://klimaschweine.de.vu

"brennan is rigt. outlawing suvs is the only fair solution. why should the middle class be stopped driving suvs by tax while the rich just drive on?"

Yeah, then we can outlaw anything some group who has political clout feels like outlawing. Good thinking there. In a jiffy we'll be in a police state.

No, don't raise the tax on SUVs or gas until you have removed all the subsidies, tax loop holes, and other economic perks that have been awarded tot he oil industry over the years.

By the way, it is not SUVs, it engine size and efficiency. A small sports car can be just as inefficient.

The price of gas will rise naturally when the perks are removed. Then alternative fuels and vehicles will receive a boost in competitiveness.

When you raise taxes you create money for some administration to spend on whatever their pet projects are.

Also, removing subsidies is far more marketable than raising taxes.

There are plenty of good policies out there but you have to be able to sell them.

Gas guzzling is only part of them problem. Higher rates of asthma are found in major cities due to higher rates of pollution. It's a fact that cars pollute. The closer you live to a freeway the more pollution you breathe. How about taxing or getting old/polluting vehicles of the road? Most people know their daily weather report, however how many people know where to find their daily air pollution report?

It should cost as much as cigarettes.
Please get a voting system that lets us see results without voting.