California could tax big cars to subsidize small ones

Apr 9, 2007, 20:23 GMT

Sacramento - A new bill in the legislature of car-crazy California proposes a heavy new tax on gas-guzzling vehicles that would be used to subsidize fuel-efficient cars, according to news reports Monday.

The 'Clean Car Discount' bill, which envisages a 2,500-dollar surcharge on vehicles like the Hummer and Ford Expedition, marks the first time California has considered penalizing consumers in an effort to cut down on greenhouse emissions like carbon dioxide blamed for global warming.

To date, California has only provided incentives such as solar power rebates or special access to the carpool lane for hybrid vehicles.

The bill would apply to new cars, pickups, minivans and sport-utility vehicles, starting with 2011 models. Under the proposed rules, the state Air Resources Board each year would rank new car models by the pounds of gases they emit that trap heat in the atmosphere.

Roughly 25 per cent of the vehicles in the mid-ground would have no fee or rebate. But buyers of high-emission vehicles would pay a surcharge of 100 to 2,500 dollars, depending on the amount of emissions, while people buying vehicles with few emissions would get similar-sized rebates.

The bill, sponsored by Silicon Valley legislator Ira Ruskin, has already cleared the California Assembly Transportation Committee and has the backing of most major statewide environmental groups, who see it as one of their top priorities in 2007.

The measure also received a substantial boost Friday when it was endorsed by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business organization that includes the major tech companies in Silicon Valley, including IBM, Google and Intel.

'If we are going to effectively fight global warming, we are going to have to find a way to get the cleaner cars on the road and the dirtier cars off the road,' said Ruskin. 'We need a carrot and stick approach.'

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - who pushed through a law recently that would force auto manufacturers to build cars that meet emission standards specific to California - has yet to take a position on the bill. But car dealers are firmly opposed, contending that the legislation unfairly targets large families and farmers.