Mileage Tax??? What are they thinking?

[Kittycat]

Why would LaHood want to implement a mileage tax? That will put the breaks on energy efficient vehicles. It should be and remain a consumption tax.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/20/mileage-tax-considered-by_n_168506.html

[FreakinDJ]

1. and send the Suburbs into Foreclosure

[Still Sensible]

3. Applaud thinking out of the box, but this is stupid

Without even considering what it would take (money, resources) to set up a system to collect and enforce--which would be astronomical I'm sure--this is simply a bad idea. The gas tax is self regulating because people are basically being taxed on the amount of resource they use. Why should a person driving a 19 mpg SUV be taxed at the same rate as the person driving a 45 mpg Prius--it makes no sense. If they need to raise the Federal gasoline tax, so be it. But I think LaHood needs to think out of a different box!

[FreakinDJ]

4. It might just be a "Trial Ballon" prior to raising Gas Tax

Your right this is so flawed on so many different levels he might just be testing the waters

[Lucian]

2. There are so many things wrong with that story I don't know where to begin.

So I'll start.

First things first...LaHood is a former Republican, so that explains everything.

Secondly, looks like gas guzzlers will be charged the same rate as fuel efficient cars, which isn't fair.

Massachusetts is considering putting in GPS units in every car so they can charge motorists by the mile? WTF? I thought this Orwellian shit would quit after Bush left office, but it's not!

[Drunken Irishman]

6. The worst thing that could have ever happened to politics...

Was the goddamn book 1984.

I so tire of hearing how everything is Orwellian or Fascist.

Not saying this is true about you, but I'm beginning to think most people who use that word just do it just because everyone else does.

Bah.

BAN THAT WORD! It's annoying and people who use it annoy me.

[PVnRT]

15. Putting monitoring devices in everyone's car is very Orwellian

You picked an odd place to make that protest.

[Drunken Irishman]

26. No, it's annoying.

It's not Orwellian, it's just stupid.

[southern_dem]

21. "Ban THAT WORD"

How Orwellian of you! :evilgrin:

[Lucian]

32. So...

Government monitoring how much you drive so they can tax you isn't Orwellian?

I very much like the word. If it wasn't for Orwell writing that book, most of us probably would just accept government intrusion in our lives and never question it.

[Drunken Irishman]

34. Yes, I'm sure had 1984 never been released we'd all be living it.

OH MY!

[LiberalFighter]

23. How would they regulate cars from states outside of Massachusetts?

[JayMusgrove]

28. I have heard about the proposed 19 cent a gallon gas tax increase, but...

DO YOU HAVE A LINK to your statement about Mass?


I have never heard it and I get local Boston TV news.

[Lucian]

33. Read the article in the OP.

It's in there.

[Mugweed]

5. I've attended some meetings here in FL

where they say this is the next step. They showed us all the technology and said it is being implemented in Europe.

[FreakinDJ]

7. Fl. reknown for Toll Boths

no wonder

Sorry for the bash

[Mugweed]

13. No problem

I bash Florida almost every day.

The additional info is that they would have teams driving around taking "random audits" of vehicles to make sure they can detect the GPS signal. If they can't, the car gets pulled over and issued a ticket. Maybe this would be a new function of the DOT vehicles I see on the roads.

It seems to me all we would really need is a signal generator to mimic what they're looking for. Take the real GPS out on weekends and it looks like you work from home and have no commute.

[ddeclue]

35. The government has no right to conduct random searches.

call it an "audit" if you want but it is an illegal search without probable cause.

This idea is Orwellian and unConstitutional on a number of levels including an ununumerated right to freedom of movement as well as the right to be secure from unwarranted searches.

Moreover this is a disincentive to fuel efficiency if Humvees get taxed per mile at the same rate that a Prius does.

It is not a practical idea either - are we really going to go back and put these devices in everyone's car? How can you enforce it on some people and not others if you can't make everyone subject to the same law at the same time? There's no way that could be constitutional either.

This is really too much and it is time to tell these busy-body legislators to stop it already.

If we need more revenue for highways raise the fuel tax - it doesn't require new technology, it doesn't intrude on people's privacy, it's not another big brother intrusion into people's lives, it doesn't disincentivize fuel efficiency - in fact it incentivizes it.

:argh:

[FormerDittoHead]

20. Oh. NOW they want to be like Europe. Can't have the 'package' though...

They want the mileage tax but they don't want the universal health care and pharmaceuticals, low defense spending, and free college.

It's AMAZING the invoke "Europe" ... NOW.

[LiberalFighter]

24. You would think these Republicans would avoid anything that is implemented by Europeans.

Considering that it soooo socialist.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

8. Good friggin luck getting GPS chips into every American's car.

The day that happens is the day I invest in a GPS jamming device.

[gmoney]

42. just pry it out and leave it on the coffeetable

there are so many pitfalls in this plan, it's laughable. Since when does gasoline consumption NOT correlate to miles driven?

someone was saying it would just apply to federally funded roads... so pretty soon everyone takes surface streets to save money and shifts more wear and tear burden to local government? Swell! Or will every state, county, city and village somehow collect money when you pass through town?

And no, I don't particularly want someone to be able to pull up a report of everyplace I've driven, when I did it, and how long I stayed there...

[elifino]

9. This will necessary as more Hybrids and Electrics hit the road.

Got to pay for all that highway and bridge upkeep and new construction.

[Salviati]

12. So the simple, no-tech solution is to peg the gas tax to the US average MPG

As average MPG goes up so does the tax, and revenues remain stable. Electric cars would have to be dealt with seperately, they use the road too, and thus should help pay for it's upkeep. Maybe a milage tax would work on them, but there's no reason that it can't be done by checking the odometer when you get your tabs. There is no reasonable reason that they should be putting in government monitored GPS in every car...

[PVnRT]

16. That would essentially reward the building of low-mileage vehicles

[Kittycat]

22. Then put tolls in, don't track my car.

[ddeclue]

36. It is NOT necessary - tax people in a non-intrusive manner

from income tax or an electrical KWH tax.

Invading people's privacy is always apologized for with the word "necessity".

:argh:

[brooklynite]

10. LaHood's goal isn't energy efficiency (not his jurisdiction); it's infrastructure

Whether your vehicle is energy efficient or not, it wears down roads, bridges, tunnels, etc. with every use. The concept is to charge drivers for wear and tear, and use the money for infrastructure maintenance

[PVnRT]

17. Which is what the gas tax does now, and does it well

Why change to a more invasive system when we have one that works fine now?

Wear and tear isn't necessarily just vehicles - weather plays just as big a factor. Vehicle weight factors in - do you charge more to truckers than you do to compact car drivers?

[ddeclue]

37. So what who cares?

Larger vehicles do more damage to the roads than smaller ones so a gas tax IS a proportional tax for the purpose of infrastructure.

The government has no business putting GPS tracking devices in every car like that.

[WinkyDink]

11. Isn't this done in the UK, or was that kiboshed? Way to punish commuters!

[pecwae]

14. Good method to punish

folks who have long commutes to whatever jobs they can hold onto. Residents of a rural area where I lived had 60-100 mile per day round trip commutes for $20,000-30,000 (or even less) and is a year jobs. It's depressed area that never had many employment opportunities when I lived there and it has only gotten worse. I guess some would say for them to move closer to where they can find work.

[Romulox]

18. It will not punish energy efficient vehicles--you will still save on gas.

Puzzling argument.

"That will put the breaks on energy efficient vehicles."

[ddeclue]

38. You need to understand mathematics then.

By taxing PER MILE, by necessity fuel efficient vehicles will pay more taxes and fuel inefficient vehicles will pay less taxes just in order to maintain the tax revnue at its current level.

It disincentivizes efficiency whereas a per GALLON tax incentivizes efficiency.

[busymom]

43. Here's an off topic question for you then...

Do you think raising taxes on people that earn more than a certain amount disincentivizes them and others from wanting to work hard?

[question everything]

19. Invasion of privacy

It is no one's business how many miles I am driving.

Tax gas, tax car registration, tax driver's license but don't monitor my mileage.

[LiberalFighter]

25. I think they want more than just how many miles you drive.

They want to know where you are at all times.

[crimsonblue]

27. Had we implemented better highway building standards,

much of the problem would be limited. In Germany, the foundation for highways in 24" of concrete. In the US, it is only 12". Had we built roads with better foundations, they would last much longer.

[Thrill]

29. Gibbs just said its not the Administrations policy and WILL NOT be their policy

[slinkerwink]

30. it's kind of odd that LaHood went off the reservation on this one

[Phx_Dem]

31. Gibbs just shot down that story in his press briefing.

You can't believe everything that you read.

[jsamuel]

39. the ONLY way this should ever be done is by taking vehicle weight times milage

As we all know, vehicle weight is the major problem on road wear. If anyone ever wanted to implement such an idea, which I don't agree with, it would have to include weight as a significant factor.

[SoCalDem]

40. All that's needed is an excise tax on vehicles costing more than the "average/normal" car

Set the tax to kick in at a certain price point, and add it to every registration renewal until the car is 10 yrs old..

Want that Navigator..pay an excise tax..

say you NEED a "HUGH" car because of your large family?..well you GET a tax break on your 1040 that people with smaller families DON'T get, and it was your CHOICE to have all those kidlets:evilgrin:

Buy a Camry, an Impala, an Accord, etc, no excise tax..

BUT.. buy a big ole van, a monster truck, a Hummer, a tricked out Beemer, or Lexus..pay the excise tax..

[Undercurrent]

41. Stupid for many reasons, as already mentioned.

Plus, such a tax would be devastating us rural folks. It's a 20 mile trip just for me to get to the grocery store.

[ShadowLiberal]

44. My first thought was maybe they want to lessen opposition to a per gallon gas tax increase

Taxing per mile driven doesn't make sense to me, it would be WAY too easy for people to cheat the system.

I'm wondering if LaHood is really trying to lessen opposition to an increase on the gas tax we have now, the per gallon tax, by making it the favorable alternative to something that would be really unpopular like this per mile tax.