Tempura Teishoku Transportation

[Mulboyne]

So that's why they call it "kuruma ebi"
Asahi: 'Tempura car' shuttle runs on cooking oil
Researchers in Tottori have cooked up a plan to help save the environment and their city center, too. Under the plan, local residents can get a free ride to the city in a car fueled by used cooking oil. The "tempura car" shuttle service is the brainchild of researchers at Tottori University of Environmental Studies. It aims to reduce global warming and also revitalize Tottori's city center...The process has been tried successfully before in Kyoto, where garbage trucks and city buses run on the tempura oil bio-fuel...more...

[Charles]

Reminds me of a local story, an environmentalist converted his car to run on used cooking oil, a local TV station interviewed him and he said that not only is his raw material free, he doesn't have to pay gasoline taxes, and he actually boasted on TV how many hundreds of bucks he'd saved by avoiding taxes.
A couple days later, the TV station ran a followup story, the State tax authorities sued him for nonpayment of fuel and road taxes.

[jingai]

A couple days later, the TV station ran a followup story, the State tax authorities sued him for nonpayment of fuel and road taxes.

Amusing, but not an issue in most places in the US. Veggie-oil powered cars are popping up all over the place, but it's really very small-scale.

The EU has a tax exemption:
http://www.iea.org/dbtw-wpd/textbase/pamsdb/detail.aspx?mode=cc&id=947

Usually biofuels are used in a blend (80% diesel/20% biofuel), and there are tax breaks for those fuels:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pdfs/biofuels_for_your_state.pdf

Found this which was attributed to the IRS:

"Your Question Was:
I make biodiesel (from vegetable oil) to run my car. Do I have to pay
excise tax? If so what form or how would I pay it? End Comment Text
------

The Answer To Your Question Is:

Thanks for your email. Here are some general information on diesel
fuel. The applicable diesel fuel tax rate is 24.4 cents per gallon. This
tax is paid by submitting Form 720 Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return.
Your inquiry relate to biodiesel fuel. This is considered as a blended
diesel fuel. The person that produces the blended diesel fuel, outside
the bulk transfer/terminal system (blender),is liable for the tax which
is imposed under IRC section 4081(b) upon sale or removal. Blended
diesel fuel is any mixture of diesel fuel, with respect to which tax has
been imposed and any other liquid(such as kerosene)which no tax has been imposed. The number of gallons of blended diesel fuel subject to the
tax, is the difference between the total number of gallons of blended
diesel fuel removed or sold, and the number of gallons of previously taxed diesel fuel used to produce the blended diesel fuel. An exclusion from tax on the "blended taxable fuel" mixture is provided in Treasury!
Regulations section 48.4081-1(c)(1)(ii) for minor blending if: during
any calendar quarter the removal or sale of the mixture in aggregate by
the blender is less than 400 gallons. PLease, visit our web site at
http://www.irs.gov, go to the link for publications/forms to download Form 720
and publication 510.

This answer is based on our understanding of the facts you presented in
your question. Omission of facts may affect the answer given."

[Charles]

A couple days later, the TV station ran a followup story, the State tax authorities sued him for nonpayment of fuel and road taxes.

Amusing, but not an issue in most places in the US. Veggie-oil powered cars are popping up all over the place, but it's really very small-scale.

The EU has a tax exemption:
http://www.iea.org/dbtw-wpd/textbase/pamsdb/detail.aspx?mode=cc&id=947

Usually biofuels are used in a blend (80% diesel/20% biofuel), and there are tax breaks for those fuels:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pdfs/biofuels_for_your_state.pdf

Looks like he only gets a 1 cent/gal tax break and has to pay the rest. And on top of that, he was asked to register with the state as a biofuel producer, with onerous registration fees. And this was in Iowa which is pushing biofuels.
I don't know how it turned out but I suspect the State came down on him hard with everything they had, and then gave up on most of the stupidity once they got some money out of him.