LETTER: AMHERST SHOULD NOT CHARGE EXCISE TAX FOR FULLY ELECTRIC VEHICLES

In October of 2017, I wrote a letter to the editor of The Daily Hampshire Gazette, which was published but with apparently no reaction.  In it, I recommended that communities in our area should do more to promote electric cars.  Cincinnati, OH, and New Haven, CT, have free parking for EVs, as well as the Honolulu airport (of all places).  Furthermore, Warren, RI, and Washington, DC, have excise tax exemption and reduced registration costs.  I am not the best at research yet am sure there are many other places that have similar incentives.

I am specifically proposing that Amherst have zero excise tax for fully electric vehicles and half price excise tax for hybrids.  While I fully understand that the income from such taxes is an important part of budgets, I think that encouraging reduction in emissions pollution is an important statement.  While Amherst cannot be first, we should be on the cutting edge with such a program.

Full disclosure:  I do drive an all-electric car, but my excise tax is included in my lease (and I doubt that my monthly fee would be reduced).  Nonetheless, I would like to know what else I can do to promote my proposal.

Paul Peelle