How Taxes Pervert our Energy Choices

The American Thinker ^ | October 06, 2009 | Joseph Somsel

[Scanian]

"The power to tax is the power to destroy." - Chief Justice John Marshall

The US tax code is a marvelous and impressive intellectual structure. As an engineer I took a business class in taxation for corporations while getting my MBA. Engineering is the art of extracting utility from first principles of science and combining it with hard-won practical experience. I found, to my frustration, that taxation is not like that. Taxes are whatever Congress and the IRS say they are, logic or principle be damned.

Tax codes are often written to support national goals, above and beyond mere revenue generation. This is often called "social engineering" although an engineer might not recognize it as such. Case in point - energy policy, specifically the different tax treatments of our electrical generation options.

[reg45]

Diesel fuel should be to produce cheaper than gasoline. Diesel engines are also more efficient. Therefore, diesel cars would be a superior choice, except for the extremely high tax on diesel fuel.

[Reeses]

Also, if people had to pay the full unsubsidized cost to ride a bus or train, they never would because it would cost 4 to 10 times as much. Public trains and buses are more expensive because they use more total energy than their private alternatives and could never compete on price.

[taildragger]

Gaseous fuels are even cheaper, and burn eons cleaner. With recent fuel Injection advances and turbocharging, power reductions are negated, and we are not to direct injection yet which may make up the fuel economy disadvantage, we will see.

Not to mention Ford's "Project Bobcat" a 3.5 l V6 twin turbo with supplimentary Ethanol Injection that is putting out over 500 ft-lbs of torque and will suplant diesels.

Palin is right, Natural Gas (all gaseous fuels) are the fuel of the future.....

[Man50D]

Tax codes are often written to support national goals, above and beyond mere revenue generation. This is often called "social engineering" although an engineer might not recognize it as such.

The income tax code is now used as a means of punishment and control over the people. The innumerable loopholes and exemptions thanks to thousands of lobbyists distorts the economy. The income tax code along with IRS need to be eliminated and replaced with a national sales tax by enacting The Fair Tax Act. Fair Tax ping!

[RayChuang88]

What you just wrote is among two reasons I want FairTax:

1) It eliminates the biggest form of corruption in Washington, DC, namely the use of the Internal Revenue Code to favor or punish financially even the smallest constituencies.
2) It makes superfluous the practice of taking some US$14 to US$ 19 TRILLION in American-owned liquid assets out of the US financial system by either participating in the underground economy or using tax loopholes to funnel money to offshore financial centers located around the world, all in the name of tax avoidance.

[ExTxMarine]

[Also, if people had to pay the full unsubsidized cost to ride a bus or train, they never would because it would cost 4 to 10 times as much.]

I was on a city committee to decide if we wanted a public transportation system in Arlington, Texas. I was totally flabbergasted at the waste and cost of a public transportation system and the “acceptable loss” rates. Basically, we were told, by several outside consultants that you can ESTIMATE to get back $0.25 for every dollar you put into the system, but a good system will only actually get back about $0.10 per dollar - and this is still considered ACCEPTABLE by public transportation standards?!?!?!?

I, along with several on the committee, owned a business and I asked, “Could you go to a bank with this business plan and expect to not get laughed out of the place?” And the consultant said (with a straight face), “Well that cost does include the value of self-esteem and worth that the citizens get from being able to move about freely. And, the value of growing businesses in your community.”

First, I didn’t know we were working on a committee to make people feel better about themselves, but that aside, I have NEVER seen a bus line CREATE a single business. Typically, the buses are designed to go where the people want to go; they are not designed to create business flow into parts of town that are currently empty and barren!

[ExTxMarine]

And, this is the most FAIR tax of them all. Those with more money buy more things (both in quantity and cost)! Therefore those people are taxed more! People who make less will spend less and thereby be taxed less!

More importantly, there are less chances of circumventing the tax system!

[nascarnation]

How do the taxes on diesel and gasoline compare?
I don’t see the big difference here:

http://www.taxadmin.org/Fta/rate/motor_fl.html

[ExTxMarine]

Of course, then the Dems will claim since poorer people spend all their money (paycheck to paycheck), then they are being taxed on 100% of their money, where as those that are better off are only being taxed on X amount!

But, in my opinion and calculations, when the big spenders do spend their money, it will be on more expensive items and will therefore make up for the percentage that was not initially taxed! But, that makes sense and is fair to all, so the Libs won’t like it!