Are you a Hybrid Owner? Beware!

If you are a hybrid owner and live in Virginia’s 86^th District, there could be another tax on your car shortly. Stevens Miller, who is running against Tom Rust, has proposed wanting to raise taxes on hybrid vehicles and aircraft.

Just last year, when the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors was considering raising taxes on both hybrid vehicles and aircraft that flew out of the Loudoun airport, Miller (who serves Dulles District supervisor) was enthusiastic about this idea. According to Loudoun Extra, Miller said,

“The incentive is no longer necessary,” Miller said. “Although I’m a big proponent of the technology, the harsh reality is that we’re giving tax breaks to drivers of luxury hybrid SUVs that get fewer miles per gallon than fuel-efficient cars.”

Miller said he believes that rather than eliminating the tax incentive, the board should “move it forward” and focus on the next technology, all-electric vehicles, by offering owners of those kinds of vehicles a tax cut.

Hybrid vehicles are designed to be fuel efficient, and in fact, purchasing hybrids have been encouraged by Congress, etc. for their fuel standards, etc. Adding an additional tax to a vehicle that is already expensive and to a vehicle with excellent fuel standards (especially when environmental reforms are being debated at the Federal level) does not make sense. Considering that there are many hybrid owners in the 86^th District, I wonder how this proposal will impact their views of Miller.