Mileage Tax Considered By Obama Transportation Secretary LaHood

[Fireweed247]

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn _ an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed.

Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving, LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press.

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

[billyoc]

1. Another regressive tax on the working class.

Cheered on by urban liberals.

[n2doc]

2. This is a complete loser of an idea

1, raising taxes disproportionately on middle and lower class workers, and on "flyover state" citizens, is a really stupid idea guaranteed to cost support of same citizens.
2. gas tax works fine, and is a better way to discourage consumption.

Obama needs to tell the guy to shut up.

[Salviati]

7. Please tell me which urban liberals are cheering this?

This urban liberal thinks that this is a god-awful stupid idea, for a number of reasons.

1) it undermines incentives to buy more fuel efficient or electric cars.

2) Since gas taxes are most often used for transportation projects, e.g. building and maintinace of roads, it makes sense that they should be levied most hevily on those who use those resources the most and those who cause the most wear and tear on them. Wear and tear is certainly caused by miles driven, but heavier vehicles cause much more wear on the road than light ones do, so it is only fitting they pay more per mile driven. Fuel economy and weight are significantly corrilated, our current model does this quite nicely.

3) I sure as hell don't want a government monitered GPS in my car, and if the problem is that a more fuel efficent national fleet causes a decrease in gas tax revenue, then the simple no-tech solution is to peg the gas tax to the national fleet average MPG. Problem solved with no tech required.

[G_j]

3. I know many, inluding myself

who live further away from work, because of rent. The poorer people often tend to live 'outside of town'
because they cannot afford the rent in town.

[wartrace]

4. Why is this being considered?

The more gas I buy, the more I pay in taxes. Unless he also proposes public transportation alternatives for EVERYONE this is just a tax on rural people.

[MoJoWorkin]

5. Gibbs at the presser, just now, said this was NOT the Obama administration plan

I don't know if La Hood said it, but if he did, he did it without knowledge or approval of Obama.

Gibbs referred the reporter back to La Hood.

[slinkerwink]

6. that was odd how LaHood went off the reservation on that

[Ikonoklast]

8. Don't think for one minute he floated this idea out there all by his lonesome.

Plausible deniability within the Obama administration just to see the reaction to this idea.

Being an operator of a commercial vehicle and subject to both the fuel excise tax, heavy use tax, and a mileage tax for each state that I travel in, the reporting and paperwork involved is a real pain in ass. To make this feasible for every non-commercial vehicle would be a paperwork nightmare.