Oregon’s New Bike Tax

[LockH]

Interesting? Maybe... Currently ESB "Search found 23 matches: +Oregon +Bike +Tax"... but NONE as topic titles?

Full title is Oregon’s New Bike Tax and the Future of Transportation Taxes... as seen here:
https://taxfoundation.org/oregon-bike-tax/

Starts:

Oregon’s new $5.3 billion transportation package includes an interesting wrinkle: a bicycle tax. Although it represents a minuscule share of the new revenues adopted under House Bill 2017, the $15 excise tax undeniably captured the attention of cycling enthusiasts in Oregon and elsewhere. It also inspired others, with a Colorado legislator floating the idea of a $15 a year tax, though a negative response was enough for him to lay on the brakes.

So. Watt say you, Denisons of the Sphere (watt goes `round and `round)?

Tax? OR NO taxes?

Given that surfaces in public and shares spaces is a "pubic good" (sp? ...sorry)... MY vote? YES.

To any/ALL vehicles including one operator ("driver") and based solely on ENERGY CONSUMPTION PER MILE (or like/about energy use per "62 kilometers". So. For a "skinny" and "small" vehicle with one operator ("rider") any "TAX" presumably would be "smaller"... Add more seats? Recalculate on added passengers weight(s).

Object here is to maybe discourage some folks from spending all/most of their time driving to work just to make the car loan payments.

The THEORY here is that by shrinking the size and weight of vehicles used for *personal* use, "infrastructure" costs are also greatly reduced.

Watt say you?

Merci Mes Amis
L

 

[Dauntless]

Sounds less like a Bike Tax and more like a Spandex Tax:

Oregon’s tax is an excise on the purchase of bicycles with a retail price of $200 or more and a wheel diameter of at least 26 inches—in other words, adult bikes, and not the inexpensive ones you might find in a big box store.

Excise tax on bikes sounds like an exercise tax, eh? But this is one time, not annual.

The Colorado Bike Tax has gone the way of the Bernie Sanders Presidency---Never came close. Colorado had the one say something that he backtracked from, but it was never underway. He said his comment was only to get a response, why he thought the response to a new tax would be anything but bad I don't know. There's always bicycle registration as a way of collecting money, California has done away with that so I don't think you'll be seeing it catching on.

 

[The fingers]

Here in Cali, they're focused on the increase in the car tax and the cigarette tax. Currently a carton of Lucky Strike is 90 bucks and change.

 

[ddk]

-Before you get too carried away with dem' bad ol' guberment taxes you might note that Oregon, unlike most repressive governments, has no 'poor people's taxes' (otherwise known as sales tax).

The small fee attached to any bike over $200 is much less than most sales taxes and effectively nulls the car owner's argument that bike riders don't pay to support the roads. (you know, the same people who don't understand that their mode of transportation is so heavily subsidized by ALL taxes)

but do carry on...

 

[12-C]

most places already have taxes/revenue streams allocated for upkeep of infrastructure. Problem is the politicians game is to provide to the few squeaky wheels to win votes, as such these revenue streams get pillaged and pilfered and diverted. It is a viscous cycle that necessitates further confiscation of wealth to make up for the deficits. It's part and parcel to the short term/unlimited re-election cycles that prevents any long term well thought out and viable/sustainable future planning. Either take the power away from politicians to have influence over everything, ie limit their powers significantly or eliminate the ability for a revenue stream to be used for other sources.

The most effective means of stimulating a sector of an economy is for government to just stay out of it, minimize regulation and taxation in the short term for the sake of growth. Subsidizing muddies the waters and makes future planning difficult.

If we could axe all subsidies across the board we could actually see the true cost of all our actions and choices, and a fee for service/user based models would allow us better allocation of these resources (infrastructure and money/time), it would be an eye opener to see the true cost of our daily decisions and I'm sure most of us would change habits...

...but I digress

 

[MadRhino]

Here the sales tax is over 15%. This is making about 30$ on a 200$ bike, and 900$ on a 6000$ DH bike. I find that 15$ tax on all bikes that are over 200$ is damn cheap. :wink: