Can you pay your state “buying a hybrid” tax with your Federal “buying a hybrid” write-off? Zero sum tax policy, my favorite discovery.
The stupid federal “buying a hybrid” credit — that’s another great example of government skewing tax policy to pick winners and losers. Anyway, I bought these cars long ago, so I’ve long since spent that money.
It is absurd. In my state, if I pay extra I can get an “alternative vehicle” license plate. WIth that plate, I get to use the HOV lanes without being HOV. Now, if HOV was meant to save gasoline, or cut pollution, then maybe this would make sense. But since HOV is really about getting cars off the road, it makes no sense to let hybrids use HOV like that.
And now, they are essentially give hybrid owners an incentive, and at the same time charging them more (realize the license plate also cost more, so you were paying a small fee for the service).
I never got the plate, because I don’t commute. I live 3 miles from where I work. And when I do drive distances, I virtually always have other people in the car, so I can use HOV if I want.
But I would prefer if government would just stop handing out special favors, and treat everybody the same.