TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

We already have highest fuel cost in northeast we need relief now and stop this taxation madness

We don't need more taxes and regulations dictated by the government. The government already squanders the tax dollars they receive. To give them more is the equivalent of provide drugs to an addict.

no on any increase gas tax you are just making Mainers poorer there is no solid evidence that global warming is man made please do some serious homework and stop funding bias research

Putting a tax on heating fuel or Diesel fuel or Kerosene or gasoline or propane will definitely hurt Maine people, The other impact will be in the making of asphalt because of less driving, the asphalt prices will skyrocket the cost to build roads will be expensive. People in Maine will lose their houses do the high cost of heating oil or propane or kerosene, This climate hoax is just a money grab to fund whatever they want. Efficiency Maine is a hoax too, they never had a plan.

Taxation is theft. We’re already taxed enough as it is. Quit using something that naturally occurs as a method to force more control over those that you represent.

No more gas tax....dssi here...and a lot of older people can't afford it....

Maine cannot afford to pay extra taxes on something that is paramount to our survival. Number 1 - we cannot have electric cars given we have power outages all the time and - what would we do? Number 2 - during the winter the trucks that plow us out are not electric trucks! Number 3 - people cannot afford to switch out their cars in Maine. We have excise taxes that would kill us if we all went out and purchased expensive electric cars. These are examples of the lack of vision Janet Mills has - she has no business leading our State.

• World Fuel Services which employs over 200 people in Virginia is strongly opposed to the "framework for a draft regional policy proposal" which seeks to expropriate the petroleum marketing industry. Over time this plan proposes to move Virginia from simple rationing and new taxes to the ultimate prohibition of fossil fuels.
• This plan does not assess the collateral damage it will inflict on state revenue, local tax collections, Virginia's Transportation Trust fund, and consumers.
• Many of the advocates of these policies support regulation to electrify transportation. Those advocates somehow forget to mention that a major component of batteries powering these vehicles is cobalt, 90 percent of which is mined in third world countries under unfavorable working conditions.
• As the number of electric vehicles grows, petroleum marketers will likely have to battle for a share of the electric vehicle charging market with utility companies that see EV charging as a new business opportunity without cost. When utility companies install charging stations, they may seek the ability to include that cost as part of their capital investment. When these costs are approved by governmental regulatory agencies, they can then be passed on to all ratepayers as part of their monthly electric bills.
• World Fuel Services believes this would provide regulated utilities an unfair competitive advantage that Virginia based small businesses simply cannot compete with. I must economically justify and self-fund at risk investments in new equipment like EV charging stations and so should my competition.
• Another likely competitor under this scheme is the state government itself. This is not a concept, as just this past session the General Assembly passed legislation to allow the Departments of Conservation and Recreation, General Services, and Transportation to install electric chargers. Fortunately our association was able to narrow this initiative considerably by limiting the number of state agencies involved and mitigating the threat of unfair competition by requiring the state to sell the power at prevailing market rates including taxes.
• All Virginians, particularly the petroleum marketing and convenience industries, support a clean environment. There are many ways to achieve this without rationing. Incentivizing the sale of electric vehicles does nothing to meet your stated goals of "equity, environmental justice, and non-discrimination." As one example, the stated goals could be achieved far faster and cheaper via efforts to assist low-income Virginians to purchase more fuel efficient vehicles that meet current and future CAFÉ standards.
• History has proven that rationing followed by prohibition - the ultimate goal of TCI - has led to black markets, unregulated and untaxed sales, and undue burdens on law enforcement.
• The impact of these proposals will not be solely on fuel sellers and convenience stores - what about the auto repair industry, muffler shops, service facilities at new car dealers, quick lubes etc.? What about agriculture, construction and watermen who will be forced to scrap present equipment or pay artificially high prices due to rationing? What about the consumer who will experience not only higher prices to operate their personal vehicles, but higher prices for consumer goods and services?
• World Fuel Services opposes the TCI plan to ration, tax and ultimately eliminate fossil fuels.