Re: busted for not paying road taxes on biofuels?

On 6/14/07, Hutch <[email protected]> wrote:

> I totally agree: it is cheating the system and your fellow man,
> forcing them to pay a higher burden of something you are both using.
> It is responsible and fair that they tax all road fuels.  Do you
> honestly think that the $60-odd registration you pay every 2 years is
> enough to pay for re-paving the roads you use every day?  That barely
> pays for DMV operations.
>
> Yes, we are a minority now.  But as more people use biofuels, the
> economy of road maintenance shifts.  People think bicycles or
> motorcycles are not paying their fair share, but they don't cause wear
> on roads or add to traffic density or pollutions as much as a car per
> mile.

Although I also believe that we should pay our part for a system we
all use. We should also pay attention to the rules when they benefit
us.

I'm not sure what the state's position is on the road use fuel tax on
homemade fuel. I have read some tax code on the IRS site about
exclusions to excise tax on alternative fuel. I'm having trouble
finding the specific text, but I do know it is in there somewhere.

The code said something like this;

"If you are involved in the manufacture of alternative fuels for your
own consumption, totaling less than 100 gallons per quarter you are
not required to pay the federal excise tax."

This works out to 400 gallons per year, and in my car that will take
me ~12000 miles, or about the average yearly milage accrued on a
vehicle. I think this is pretty generous. But when you think about the
amount of money you are avoiding, you aren't saving much ...

So the federal government has decided they would rather avoid the
extra paperwork if you only owe $100 in excise tax. Of course this
doesn't speak for the Oregon State government. However the tax rate is
almost the same, so you would owe approx the same amount.

Do you know how much your paying in tax for diesel / biodiesel fuel?

Enviromental Protection Agency = $0.0022/gal
Federal Excise Tax                   = $0.2440/gal
Oregon State Use Fuel Tax        = $0.2400/gal

For a total of $0.4862/gal.

--
Jeff Brandt
Sun Break Biofuels, LLC
mailto:[email protected]