Bike tax in Oregon Is dead! Oh Yeah!

[BrigmasterA]

Looks like I moved back to Oregon just in time... Not! The state legislaters are proposing a bicycle registration fee that would require every bicycle ridden on the street tobe registered just like(and for the same amount of money as) a car. The means I would have to register 15 bicycles, unless i had some I didn't want to ride. Check out the details here. If you're from Oregon, please get involved and write the state reps. The links are here in the craigslist ad...
http://eugene.craigslist.org/rnr/1066487991.html
ther's als links here to write your reps...

 

[JoeyMac]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

Bogus! But there's no way the police forces will want to put the extra work into enforcing something like that...

 

[BrigmasterA]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

I know, but it could happen...

 

[maddogrider]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

Oh man way not cool. Hopefully enough people put there foot down and KILL that idea. :x

 

[user 135]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

That would suck, but sound like it won't go anywhere with the current economy. The legislature's logic is akin to making people pay for their foodstamps.

 

[BrigmasterA]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

True, but I'd hate to see it happen cuz people felt like that... There were a lot of people who said cars would never catch on, and Hitler was just a flash in the pan, so I wanna give people the opportunity to get involved...

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

That bike tax sounds like something New Jersey would try to pull.

 

[chimichanga]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

Cali is looking to get money somehow. I hope they don't notice what our neighbors are doing up there.

 

[Bendix]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

sometimes it's a shock to realize just how much anti-cyclist sentiment there is out there. make no mistake, bills like that are to raise revenue second, and to 'show those bicyclers' they can't 'get away with anything' first :x never mind the fact that probably 99.9 percent of adult cyclists also have registered motor vehicles, which they would be using, causing MORE wear on the roadways, if they weren't riding a bike! eeediots!!

 

[mrbill]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

Hello BrigmasterA,

I remember when I was a young lad my uncle had a
license plate on his bicycle, maybe because he was
an adult, as none of me or my pals needed a plate.
This was in Pennsylavaia late in the '50's. I hope
history doesn't repeat itself.

Cheers.

 

[tatrat]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

We'll probably be seeing that in Illinois soon enough too.

 

[Wildcat]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

A 5 dollar registration fee maybe, only if there is an effort to get stolen bikes recovered. That's the whole idea behind registering bikes. Not just to bring in money.

My small pickup truck costs 70 bucks a year to register, a few of my bikes won't sell for that much (they are priceless though).

I'll do like some in the big city do. I'll make up a cardboard tag that says: "stolen tag".

 

[thatismytruck]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

more proof that politicians do not think like normal people. perhaps, instead of looking for ways to squeeze more money out of constituents, they could look for ways to spend the enormous amount of money they already get more wisely.

the thing is, this tax could discourage riding by making it more expensive. It could also make the people with no cars not be able to afford their bikes and then limit where they can work. oh man, it's a big crap sandwich all around. yay

 

[rgallen]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

With the economy the way it is most states are looking for a dollar anywhere they can find it.

 

[tnt1]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

Hey Brigham when did you move from washington.Tony

 

[BrigmasterA]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

I moved back to Oregon after living in Washinton for 10 months a little over a week ago.

 

[No cars on mars]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

That would double the price of most wallyworld bikes.
They will want to tax people that walk on sidewalks next. People walking use the sidewalks so they should be taxed for that because they use it. Most rail to trail bikepaths are used by people walking, running, using roller blades and baby carts. Can you see a license plates on people pants, shorts, skates or baby strollers? Or the first week of classes at an university where the local police will fine the new students with bicycles that are not registration. Imagine the chief saying to the officers "I want you to go out there today and stop and fine all the new students. You have a quota to meet."
If every road including interstate highways had a bike lane, maybe. But bicyclist only use up 18 inches to 2 feet out of 30 to 60 feet of roadway if you include sidewalks. The wear and tear on the road is nothing for a bicycle compared to cars and heavy trucks that compress and spill stuff on the roadway. How about a $2 tax that the person can wear a license on themselves like a fishing license.
In the future a 3 or 4 year old will have to take a riding and writing test at the DMV before they can use a trike. Then another test when they get a big bike with training wheels and another to remove the training wheels.

I have 70 plus rideable bicycles and it would be over $3780.

 

[rick74304]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

Sounds like they are going in the wrong direction. Perhaps if it were not mandatory (anti theft registration) it wold be an easier sell.
Here in Ontario, the gov't went in the opposite direction, and eliminated the sales tax on bikes and accessories under $1000.
Perhaps including a link in your emails to the gov't will help show them the error of their ways;
http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/news/Product.asp?ProductID=1737
Hope that helps,
Rick

 

[tikiharl]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

I was always under the impression that Oregon was enviromentaly progressive.You would think that they would want to encourage bikes.

 

[bicycleguy]

Re: Bike tax in Oregon! Booo!

That would mean I would have over $2000 of taxes to pay on my bikes just to ride them...I think if that somehow does go through it will really hurt the local bike industry here.