THe point of gas tax is to cover road suage, and applies to all fuels. By using an alternate fuel without filling out the correct paperwork, he is commiting tax evasion. Not “what amoutns to tax evasion” or any variant – it is tax evasion, pure and simple.

The reporting on this has been very one-sided, and not fair tot he state at all.

First off, this isn’t an isolated case. It may be the first time that an individual owner has been cited, but semi-truck drivers have been pulling the same thing with lamp oil for decades now. I’d guess the bond was set based on that precedent.

Second, there’s a great deal of fuss about the “Special fuel” receiver and provider, and how supposedly ridiculous it is. The paperwork is, I’m sure, onerous. But he IS a special fuel receiver and provider.

Finally, I’m simply not buying the apparent surprise he had about needing to pay taxes. He went to the trouble of figuring out how to run vegetable oil in his car. Depending on the vehicle this may or may not have entailed modifying the engine. I do not doubt that he had to do some research, and the literature abounds with reference to the taxation issue. I believe that he was flly aware he was evading the law and now wants to pretend ignorance.

Hasufin - 10 03 07 - 00:38 - Reply to comment?

Interesting. The way it’s always described, it’s a tax on purchasing fuel from stations for use in driving. Why don’t they just call it a ‘roadway tax’ or something like that?

To be honest, as it usually is. There have been people that have built their own electric cars in the past that have run afoul of these laws, also.

Semi truck drivers?

Receiver, yes. I disagree that he is a provider because he acquires used vegetable oil from restaurants, who would logically be the providers. Pluswhich, he doesn’t fit into the legal requirements as either a reciever or a provider because he has less than 30k gallons on site at any one time, which is how Illinois law is written.

The Doctor (URL) - 12 03 07 - 14:20 - Reply to comment?

I think that “gas tax” is more a common term than the legal classification. I’m sure in the laws it’s listed as “transit maintenance” or somethign similarly arcane.

Semi truck == “tractor-trailer”. I’m not sure what else to call ‘em. Those monstrous diesel rigs with the 40-ton carrying capacity?
They’re diesel, and they go through massive amounts of fuel. Saving 30 cents on the gallon would be huge.

No, I’ll take receiver and provider both. He’s taking the raw material, processing it, and then putting it in a vehicle on the road. THis is semantics, but that’s the way the law is structured. I’ll admit beyond doubt the law is cumbersome, but it’s not like the state is simply making this up.

Now, I didn’t know about the 30K gallon limit – can you give a citation on that one?

Hasufin - 13 03 07 - 00:05 - Reply to comment?

I would hope so, if only for the sake of clarity and not to keep the legal profession financially solvent.

I know what they are, but I did not know that they could run on lamp oil. When you think of how big the saddlebags of tractors are (50 gallons each? 150?) $0.30us really adds up.

It’s in the article – he falls well under the 30k gallon limit to be considered a provider of fuel. I don’t think that he’s processing it, either, unless you count running it through a couple of filters to remove the solids processing. As far as I know he isn’t performing any major chemical treatments on the vegetable oil. You can if you want it to burn as efficiently as possible, but it isn’t necessary to do so.

The Doctor (URL) - 13 03 07 - 10:41 - Reply to comment?