Be flexible with Flexcar

Flexcars are different from rental cars in a practical sense — if not under state law. The state Department of Revenue should find a way to exempt Flexcar from the rental-car tax, as the governor has requested. Failing that, the Legislature should act because the cars help achieve important public-policy goals: reducing carbon emissions and congestion.

Flexcar, a car-sharing company with 20,000 members, permits people to live their lives without acute dependence on vehicle ownership. Some people who own cars leave them at their distant suburban homes, hop on the bus to their downtown jobs and use Flexcar for such things as lunchtime errands or doctor appointments.

In a letter, Gov. Christine Gregoire urged the Revenue Department to look again at its decision to treat the car-sharing organization the same as it does rental cars.

The agency recently ruled Flexcar was subject to the rental-car tax and would have to start paying in October. The combined county and state levy would add about $1 to the $10-per-hour charge to use the cars.

Car-rental companies balk at a tax break for Flexcar, which they view as a competitor for the business of non-car-owning city residents who might occasionally rent a car.

There are bigger goals here, however. The state has enacted legislation requiring that carbon emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020. Add in the ongoing challenges of growing traffic congestion.

The car-sharing service helps make other commuting options, such as transit and car pooling, more viable for people who otherwise would drive. Rental-car agencies, as a practical matter, can't do that.

If the Revenue Department can't make a change administratively, lawmakers should do so legislatively.