legal ramifications of running bio-d/wvo

Anything related to biodiesel/biofuels, questions, answers, technical information for all VW Diesel Engines should go here.

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camshaftprelube

legal ramifications of running bio-d/wvo

Post by camshaftprelube »

Hi all,
It's not like i'm paying taxes on waste vegetable oil. How much trouble can you get in if you get caught?

Assuming of course, the authorities even know what they are looking at.
surfcam
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Post by surfcam »

I havn't heard of any laws on the books against it. I just can't see them going after envoirmently friend fuel, bad PR. But in future if it becomes popular l'll bet they will take a took at it. I remember when propane auto fuel first came out with no tax. Good for the envoiment and all that and now there's a small tax on it I believe.
Fatmobile
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vegy laws

Post by Fatmobile »

I've heard the federal fuel tax is a sales tax so if you don't buy vegetable oil for fuel you don't have to worry about that tax.
I'd like to see a fuel tax exempt status for vegetable oil based fuels but it looks like they are only giving that to the big biodiesel producers by discounting the road use fuel taxes at the pump.
Them politicians ... out one side of their mouth they say,"There isn't enough vegetable oil to run a very large percentage of our cars and trucks" and out the other side they are saying, "Can't make it tax exempt because if everyone switched to vegy we would lose tax dollars".
Idiots.
srivett
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Post by srivett »

I "heard" you could be charged for using a non-EPA approved fuel. I don't live in the US so I don't know if this is true. Diesels are more likely to have their fuel tanks dipped than gassers since coloured diesel is readily available. Coloured gasoline is pretty rare.

Steve
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Charlie B
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Post by Charlie B »

When I was stationed in Guam they colored the gasoline so it wouldn't be used off base. Didn't work too well, you would fill up in town and their gas was red also. HMMM wonder how that happened.
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Ryland
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Post by Ryland »

in the UK they require any fuel used on public roads to have paid a fuel tax, and I'm not sure if they just fine you, or impound your car, but they do check the smell coming out of your tail pipe, and check what is in your tank,a nd it's not a good deal to get caught, but I've only read about that happening so I can't say for sure.
I understand that in the US you can make up to 300 gallons, per quarter, of your own fuel, if that be wood gas (have books on that, and have seen modles of world war 2 VW's that ran off it) alcohol, bio-diesel, electricity, whatever, you can make up to 300 gallons every 3 months, for your own use, and not pay taxes on it, I've also been told that if you are part of a bio-diesel co-op, that shares equipment, that you are better off just not saying anything, because this tax-free bit only counts if it's done in as a privite act, I found this out when I was asking around about forming a collection buissness for oil that worked as a co-op, so everyone owned it, and was "making their own" fuel at a central location in town, and it sounds like the leagle stuff made it to hard to do.
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Post by Krank »

There was an article in The New York Times about SVO vs. the EPA about 3 weeks ago. It indicated that they were within their rights to fine some un-godly amount for use of non EPA approved fuels. The also indicated that they had no intent to make good on that threat, but they were still looking into it.
I've read things from the IRS indicating that they had no intention of going after biodiesel home brewers for road taxes, but that if a brewer were to produce biodiesel for sale then all bets were off. I can understand that mentality. Why punish the little guys for very little payoff when you can prosecute a few big guys and get much more productive payoffs. And when you factor the tax breaks already offerred to set up a large scale operation, then the point is mute and money is made by everyone involved. Why do you think Bill Gates recently invested a small fortune into a California company planning on making ethanol? Big payoff!
vwtyp133
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Post by vwtyp133 »

F - yeah! Freakin' big government subsidies being paid(mostly to Archer-Daniels-Midland) for corn ethanol production. Hell, you don't expect those lobbyists to work for free, do you!

J.R.
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