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June 13, 2007 9:38 AM PDT

Biofuel drivers hit with fines in North Carolina

by Michael Kanellos
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If you drive a biodiesel car in North Carolina, you might be slapped with a fine.

Although the state is trying to promote biofuel production and consumption, the state also wants to collect taxes on transportation fuel. So drivers that are filing up their cars with vegetable oil are getting nailed with fines for tax avoidance, according to a report in the Charlotte Observer.

Musician Bob Teixeira got snagged with a $1,000 fine from the state and may be hit with another $1,000 fine from the federal government, the newspaper stated. He's been filling his 1981 diesel Mercedes with vegetable oil from Costco. To start running the car legally on veggie oil, he will have to post a $2,500 bond, the newspaper reported.

Other drivers have been fined for running their cars on alcohol. In the old days, it was sold as moonshine.

Legal help, though, is probably on the way. The state's Department of Revenue is asking the legislature to exempt small consumers from any bond requirements. Some lawmakers are even going further. State senator Stan Bingham, who drives a soybean oil-powered Volkswagen with a "Goodbye OPEC" sticker, says people that retrofit their cars to avoid burning fossil fuels should be exempt from the state tax altogether.

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Gas Taxes
by digit1001 June 13, 2007 10:57 AM PDT
So if I use gasoline for my lawnmower or to clean a paintbrush, does the state/fed owe me tax money back?
Reply to this comment
TAXES
by eBob1 June 13, 2007 11:26 AM PDT
If you drive a car I'll tax the street.
If you try to sit I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat.
If you take a walk I'll tax your feet.
Reply to this comment
Good example of wrongful thinking
by MrGnome June 13, 2007 11:44 AM PDT
The legislation really needs to change here. This is a good example of how old outdated laws cannot handle the modern society, and actually prevent technology from going forward. Anyone remember the dark ages where the church wrote the laws? :)

Maybe we are going in to a new dark age where environmentally friendly technology that could save us, is being held back by the law. And who writes the laws nowadays? Politicians, elected by us, following big company lobbyists. The dark ages of the Church is coming back as the dark ages of big companies and money.

It's sad. Just be aware, and we might sort it out.

http://mrgnome.wordpress.com
Reply to this comment
So wrong on many levels
by jessadam June 13, 2007 11:46 AM PDT
Mr. Teixeira should be given a commendation for doing his share
to lessen our coutry's dependence on foreign oil. He should alo be
praised for using s renewable resource to power his vehicle. How
about a pat on the back for choosing a fuel that spews fewer
particulates into the North Carolina air? He and senator Bingham
aren't sticking it to The Man (well, OK, maybe a little), they are
helping humanity.
Reply to this comment
Taxes???
by Old Guy 58 June 13, 2007 11:50 AM PDT
Isn't this the same state with the lowest tobacco taxes in the country...
hmmm, lets avoid high taxes on stuff that pollutes from the inside and make sure we tax the stuff that lowers pollution from the outside...makes sense to me!
Reply to this comment
Taxes
by georgiarat June 13, 2007 12:07 PM PDT
They are also one of a handful of states that allow illegal
immigrants to get a drivers license, no questions asked. Bet they
do not pay these taxes either.
RE: Biofuel drivers hit with fines in North Carolina
by protagonistic June 13, 2007 12:08 PM PDT
Taking this to its logical conclusion the Government will fine you if
you hook the battery on an electric vehicle up to a solar panel to
recharge it. You think maybe our government doesn't want us to
be energy independent?
Reply to this comment
Tax money goes to all those worthwhile recipients
by William Crow June 14, 2007 9:52 PM PDT
The government needs the money to pay people, ie., buy votes.
You may very well be on their payroll. If you are I'll bet you'll vote
to keep the money coming in. There's never enough!
Reply to this comment
by patriziaotxoa August 20, 2008 9:30 AM PDT
It's like the government will fine you if you don't consume their fuel. Where says that the consumption of another kind of energy fuel is forbidden? Freedom is doing what is not prohibited in the laws, and as far as I know that's permitted but now they say you skipping taxes. They just never lose.

Patricia

North Carolina Drug Treatment
Reply to this comment
by BenjaminY March 12, 2009 11:33 PM PDT
The government might be a burden on this thinking but people must understand the great advantage of biofuels. One great source is tequila, which is considered as a unique substance. Tequila is often given blame in stories of drunken debauchery, as are many other beverages of its sort. However, the spirit distilled from the agave may start to become somewhat of a rarer commodity. Researchers are looking closely at Agave, which has been proven as a potent yield crop for biofuel. A recent study from Australia points out that it has almost twice the potential as most other biofuel crops. A lot of people would be willing to give a cash advance or two for an alternate fuel source, as General Motors has revealed their plans for biofuel vehicles to be released in the land under. This may turn out a good story attributed to <a href="http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/03/05/tequila-agave-biofuel/">tequila</a>.
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