Car Rental Taxes and Fees Going Haywire

Socking travelers with exorbitant taxes and fees has become a sport.  Airlines, hotels and car rental companies are now cash cows for cities, states, municipalities, airports for revenue generation.  Travelers do not vote in the places they visit, so they have become easy targets. For international airline tickets, taxes and fees are often higher than the "base fare" of a ticket.  Airlines have added their own surcharges since they only pay taxes on base fares.
Car rental companies taxes and fees are approaching parity with the "base" rental rates.  On a recent example, we requested a quote for a passenger needing a car in Austin, Texas, one of the lower jurisdictions for taxes and fees in the country, and were quite surprised to see this breakdown:

Taxes & Fees

Here is a breakdown of the estimated taxes, fees, and surcharges that apply to your reservation when you pick-up your rental car:
Weekly Rate (2 x $144.90)          $289.80

Airport Concession Fee	35.97
Local Tax	66.46
CUSTOMER FAC FEE	83.30
VEH LICENSE FEE	28.00
ENERGY RECOVERY FEE	6.00
Total Taxes, Fees and Surcharges	219.73

Grand Total: $509.53

"Vehicle License Fee"?, "Energy Recovery Fee"?, "Customer FAC Fee"? These names actually make the airlines look good!  How about a "Steering Wheel Fee"? or "Tire Tread Fee"?

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