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Comment by xvedejas | Hacker News Reader

Why should you have to pay taxes for either? Why is renting a car something that should have extra penalties over owning one? As someone who doesn't own a car anymore (as a lifestyle choice) I'm now noticing many hidden things in the US which benefit car-owners to the detriment of the car-free.

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Completely agree. All the extra fees and hassle around car rentals are why I eventually bought a car, even though I really only need it sporadically -- mostly for vacations.

I think the taxes on rental cars are often a type of "tourist tax". Politicians seem to find it easy to approve taxes on people who can't vote in their reelection campaigns.

To provide a counterpoint, local taxes pay for a lot of local things. So why should a tourist benefit from a bunch of things that they did not pay for? A tourist tax is a way to make sure they are paying their share of it.

Rental car tax applies to locals as well, though.

ISTR my state has an exclusion for local residents. I don’t believe the exclusion applies at rentals at the airport. I wouldn’t be surprised to find most states have rental car/hotel tax exclusions for locals.

benefits like clean air and good roads don't cost more when a tourist arrives.

A tourist also pays taxes from VAT and other sources,but do not benefit from them. So it evens out I presume.

But tourist tend to generate economic activity. A benefit that locals would want more of. The taxes a tourist pay is disencentivizing.

I would argue that they actually do... More people coming in and using roads and moving around contribute to the deterioration of the roads and more pollution.

Regular motor vehicles don’t do nearly as much harm to the roads as OTR trucks, yet we subsidize those for the benefits they bring...

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