Thor Forums

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by DaveDopp

Ummm ... "The average excise duty on gas is €0.56 per liter ($2.48 per gallon) in the European Union, while it is €0.45 per liter ($2.00 per gallon) on diesel." (Tax Foundation) To this you must also add the VAT (value added tax) of 15 to 28 percent. The average retail price of European gasoline (US dollars per gallon) is $6.00 plus. The Netherlands has the highest price at $8.25 per gallon.

The US provides around $4.5 billion in subsidies to fossil fuel producers (not all of that goes to gasoline) annually. We consume around 130 billion gallons of gasoline per year. Just for grins, assume ALL of the subsidy goes to gasoline, that works out to about 3.5 CENTS per gallon!

The higher prices in Europe are due to excessive taxation!

So... I underestimated a little. One thing I haven't underestimated is the absolutely HORRIBLE condition of the freeway system in the U.S. I've been driving on various freeways for 50 years now... and freeways today are the worst I've ever seen. I guess that fuel tax shown on every gasoline pump in Ohio (39¢ / gallon) is either a lie... or We the People are being duped??? That's a LOT of cash going somewhere... Sounds like a little "back door cash" to keep prices artificially low... then tax working people to make up the revenue shortage? It's SO easy to scam Americans - and they have such short memories!