Wisconsin hybrid owners are noticing a new state fee. Will they pay more overall than gas-only vehicle owners? It depends.

MERRILL — Joseph Dutton feels like he`s being punished for caring about the environment.

Dutton`s wife bought a used 2012 Toyota Prius because they wanted to use less gasoline during her 70-mile round-trip daily commute.

Dutton`s wife died two years ago, and the hybrid isn`t driven as much now. But when he went to re-register the car online in early October, he saw he would have to start paying a $75 surcharge, and he called his state legislators to ask why.

"They told me that they decided to do that because of fuel costs," Dutton said. "I wasn`t paying enough in taxes because I wasn`t burning as much fuel."

Wisconsin has technically had a $75 surcharge on gas-electric hybrids — as well as a $100 fee for electric vehicles — for two years, but the fee on hybrids was not initially collected by the state Department of Transportation because the law was written in a way that made it difficult to determine which cars qualified....

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Ken Notes: This is backwards thinking for sure. I like the cause and effect tax that fuel tax should be i.e. gas tax for roads but even this is often diverted into other programs or other regions in the state. You can not penalize someone for using less gas. Want to recoup any losses charge more gas tax, use tollways, use a wheel tax, but do not single out a specific type of vehicle. It is sort of like charging an elected officials vehicle tax, which may not be a bad idea....