I've enjoyed quite a lot of publicity lately for making biodiesel. First a Wired news article, then local radio, TV, and papers.

Then the other shoe dropped: I just got a letter from the owa Department of Revenue:

"It has come to the department's attention that you have been using vegetable oil to make bio diesel. Since vegetable oil is considered, a blending agent fuel tax is applied at .225 cents per gallong. You need to complete a Fuel Tax Licence Application and Electronic Funds Transfer Application."

It goes on to say I need to have my oil supliers give me reciepts, and I need to fill out paper work every month.

This may make me quit homebrewing. Any ideas?

Orbiteleven,

And a collective shiver ran through the forum

Clearly fame has it's downside. I suppose that now you are a marked man you will need to do a bit of paperwork. But I don't think that anyone is going to check every gallon you make.
regards, and deepest condolences,
dva

Exactly why I prefer to stay below the radar.

I had thought about this when I was first asked for an interview. I figured it was a risk I'd take to get the word out there about biodiesel. Even if I "stop" making biodiesel, I have made several contacts in the community, so the word is getting out.

LOL....
IOWA=TAXES
They will get you every way possible.
My advise still stands ...Move from that lousy state.
I speak from experience
sales tax 7% this is on just about everything imaginable.
income tax 10%
property tax off the charts especially if you own commercial property...I own a bldg in Iowa that is valued at about 250K my taxes are in excess of 8500 per yr.
I could go on and on but this is not the place for it.....I moved and wont go back...ever.

The latest:

http://www.kcrg.com/article.aspx?art_id=84352&cat_id=123

DF,

What an AH. I read through this thread and did not see anything deserving the response you posted. What I did see was that a legislator was getting involved and that there might be changes favorable to private biodiesel producers as a result. Unless you have personal knowledge which would support your response you might try to be a little less cynical. There is no reason for these forums to get hostile. I read these for information and not to see who can sling the most mud.

JMHO

Bobby

Hey, dualfuel. You're an ass.

Just so you know:

I'm working with a state legislator on changing rules about biodiesel. With any luck (and no help from you), Iowa will have the most progressive biodiesel legislation in the US.

I've had over 10 people contact me about getting into biodiesel. More calls are comming in.

I did start using Biodiesel for the environmental benefits. I homebrew until the cost for commercial bd comes down. I'm hoping with the added attention, and once again no help from you, this may become a reality.

In conclusion, you've got no right to badmouth or otherwise criticize me. I AM trying to do something good here. I don't know where you get off, but it's really dishartening that I'm in cohorts with people like you.

Hey orbiteleven,
I wish you the best in your adventure. Maybe some good will come of it. Eveb with the gas tax I think biodiesel will still be a viable alternative. Then all that used veggie oil can go for something good instead of in a landfill or somewhere worse.

I do apologize for my earlier post. I'm just sick and tired of the government saying how they want to save the environment by putting all of the emissions crap on vehicles when they know of an alternative.

But what would guys like Bush do without their oil fortunes rolling in every month. His daddy sent me for the first gulf war and now my little bro is over there so I do get a little heated about the whole oil thing at times.

Anyhow. I apologize and if I can help in any way please let me know. I would love to see bio main stream at the pumps everywhere

Accepted. Thanks.

DragonsBane = DualFuel? Did they banninate you? I feel bad. I suppose I flew off the handle a little too. Obviously it's something we're both passionate about this, and when stuff like this happens, tempers flare.

Well, keep it up. I'll let everyone know how this turns out.

orbiteleven,
no i'm a different person. it was dualfuels post that made me realize i was being an ass about this. anyway good luck

Ok, sorry for that. I just noticed his posts magically 'dissapeared'.

Thanks for the encouragement.

quote:

---

IOWA=TAXES
They will get you every way possible.
My advise still stands ...Move from that lousy state.
I speak from experience
sales tax 7% this is on just about everything imaginable.
income tax 10%

---

UK TAXES
Sales Tax (VAT) 17.5%
Income Tax 23% rising to 40%

This is low for the EU. We laugh like drains when you lot complain about your fuel costs too...
If only we had those rates to complain about...

Phill,

I do not want to start a political war but Europeans choosing to support inefficient socialist governments is just that, your choice. A lot of us over here beleive that is our personal business where our hard earned money is spent and not some fat, dumb, beaurocrat. Pardon any misspellings. You get the message.

Bobby

Just out of curiosity, which inefficient socialist governments would you be referring to?

And which socialist tendencies in particular are you upset with the most, affordable medicine or affordable education perhaps?
Or is it the unbelieveable situation where governments actually pay farmers NOT to grow crops?

Rev Tilly KE

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tilly,

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tilly:
_Just out of curiosity, which inefficient socialist governments would you be referring to?_

And which socialist tendencies in particular are you upset with the most, affordable medicine or affordable education perhaps?
Or is it the unbelieveable situation where governments actually pay farmers NOT to grow crops?

Rev Tilly KE

---

I guess I just can't help but to get suckered into this. You assume that I agree with the CRP (paying farmers NOT to grow crops) just becuase it is one of our governments programs. It is another example of wasteful government spending. Probably just a response to the farm subsidies paid by most of the other competing countries to ensure their inefficient farmers a guranteed income.

You missed the intent of the first response. If you think that it is OK for your government to overtax you and then control every aspect of your life, then more power to you.

My first response was to the fuel tax comments only. This will be the last open letter about the pitfalls of big government.

Bobby, I seem to have missed your posting about the pitfalls of "Big Government"

I thought you were just making a sweeping unsubstantiated generalization about "inefficient socialist governments" in Europe.
And while I am not an authority on the different types of governments in Europe, I think you will find that there are NO socialist governments in the European Union which includes countries like the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

For the life of me I can not see what I said that has now made you say that I think you agree with the CRP or that I agree with my government "Over Taxing" me.
You do seem to jump to a lot of conclusion which have no basis in fact.

Rev Tilly KE

quote:

---

Originally posted by dualfuel:
Bobby,
At this point, I would counsil you to read, perhaps the "Tilly bashing forum" or maybe some of the postings in which Tilly demonstrates the uselessness of the "Foolproof Method". Of course, if you don't Tilly will surely trap you and the results will be hilarious. He, unlike me, won't take his toys and go home, but he will make you wish you'd never set foot in the sand box!
But don't heed anything I write, after all I'm an "AH".
"snicker!"
DF

---

DF, While you are right in your last statement, I assure that I had no intention of "bashing" Tilly. After rereading my response to Tilly, I am still trying to find the bashing part. Did I call Tilly a derogatory name or imply that he was sub-intelligent? What I did read was difference of opinion regarding world politics. Now there is something unique. I read Tilly's bidiesel posts whenever I can find them and refer many other's to them. That does not mean that I bow to every Tilly post as though it were gospel. Being an expert on biodiesel does not make Tilly an expert on every other subject of discussion nor does it make his opinion any more legitimate than anothers, even yours.

Tilly, Any assumptions made about your political leanings where made after reading your first post in this thread, nothing more. If you do not consider taxing for the sake of financing social programs Socialism, so be it. We can disagree. Don't crack jokes about others who do not agree about high taxes and expect to get a free pass.

Bottom line, this is supposed to be a biodiesel forum. I would assume that this forum is open all interested in biodiesel regardless of thier political beliefs. If that is not the case, then post the groundrules for all to see and exclude all who disagree. Make all posters fill out a questionaire so that none may enter who do not conform to the desired way of thinking. To be honest, the 6 post previous, and including this one, add nothing to the thread. I hate reading one these back and forth threads when they have deterioted to this point and here I am in the middle of one.

Hey Tilly,
Re: Make all posters fill out a questionaire so that none may enter who do not conform to the desired way of thinking.

Does this remind you of some place else ?

Bobby S,
Re: A lot of us over here beleive that is our personal business where our hard earned money is spent ....

Don't fool yourself. Your government will spend you tax money any way they please (Never heard of Black Projects ?) regardless of how much you moan about it. Just like ours.
regards
dva

The title of this thread is ‘BioDiesel Road Taxes’. If the government didn’t need to spend money, then this thread would not exist. Countries with some of the highest standards of living in the world, have a very different to the US, more ‘high tax, mixed economy’ set up. Sweden, Germany, France, Holland etc, have lower crime rates and lower rates of severe poverty than the US. The two go together.

I understand that in California in the late 70’s a law was passed limiting tax rates that the state can charge. Cutting social welfare spending paid for that. And that law is still in effect. Could this be connected with the rise in crime rates and the response of the development of secure middleclass ‘gated’ suburbs with private ‘police’? Can people feel safe in a fractured chequerboard society of sectarian wealth and extreme poverty?

Margaret Thatcher said, “There is no such thing as Society”. She is wrong. You have to pay the cost of living in it one way or another. This does not excuse in any way individual anti-social behaviour. But, the fact is that countries with the highest social cohesion, have the lowest crime rates, and that must make a very big impact on the quality of life for everyone in that society. A house that is divided against itself cannot stand.

Efficiency of expenditure and bureaucratic screw-ups would be a whole other argument. Everybody hates this kind of waste.

Americans have this odd idea that their government doesn’t subsidise their industry. They do. Airbus is an example of an industry that has come in for a lot of stick from the Americans. The US doesn’t support civil aviation projects, they say. US taxpayers paid for the Boeing 747 development, as a military project. When it failed to be ordered by the Pentagon, it was sold as a civil airliner, becoming the most successful civil aircraft in history.

Is it really such a sin for a government to spend money helping poor people and investing in their civilian technological base? What should they do, split the difference of current Euro to US level of tax revenue between well off people and the military as the US does?