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Oregon stands as the most advanced, with its plan to offer a voluntary pay-as-you-drive tax setup next year offering 5,000 drivers the chance to pay 1.5 cents for every mile they travel in the state.
I'll bet they'll be wondering why they wont be swamped with volunteers
Probably there need to be more taxes to maintain the roads or at least a better management of current road budgets, but a mileage tax sounds like a huge can of worms.
For one thing, as some commenters here have pointed out, odometers can be hacked. If it's worth $10 a year to hack your odometer, few will bother. But if it's worth $500 a year, there will be a whole industry of odometer hackers, youtube videos and how-to websites showing step-by-step how to do it, and of course there will be a huge backlash with online petitions and get-out-the-vote drives to vote out the politicians who did it.
Also, a mileage tax is regressive and will hurt people in the working and middle class the most. The rich can afford anything, but the millions of people who have to drive for a living will be hurt: landscapers, truck drivers, courier and delivery companies, in-home nursing aids, real estate, trades people, and all restaurants and stores that depend on deliveries of food and other goods.
When we are prosperous and fully employed, we can afford anything. When we're in a prolonged recession or semi-recession or "jobless recovery" such as we have had since 2008, a broad based tax like this will hurt job growth and it will ratchet up the misery index. People who might have spent their money on savings or on consumer goods and entertainment will instead put it into this road tax.
Will the money actually go to fix the roads? Questionable. I would bet that some small percentage of it will find its way into road repair and expansion. The rest will go to pad government budgets, increase staff, and add to corruption--kickbacks, under the table deals, skimming, and all that fine stuff that goes on every day in every level of government.
Also, the fatter the budget, the higher the price for road repair will become. Construction unions will demand more money, contractors will raise their bids, and the money will flow into various pockets.
I don't have a quick solution to traffic problems but I do know that a simplistic, universal tax like the mileage tax is just a bad idea that will have bad consequences and very little good will come of it.
Does anyone remember the "luxury tax" from 1990 that was passed by Ted Kennedy's Democratic majority and signed by the first President Bush? Apart from the fact that Bush lost reelection because of his famous "read my lips" reversal, this tax had a devastating effect on the luxury yacht and RV industries, throwing thousands of trades people, sales, glass, electrical, plumbing, etc. out of work right as a recession was hitting. They quietly rescinded the tax a couple of years later. Be careful what you wish for.
I don't have a quick solution to traffic problems but I do know that a simplistic, universal tax like the mileage tax is just a bad idea that will have bad consequences and very little good will come of it.
Just increase the gasoline tax as needed. This already incorporates mileage AND efficiency AND relative damage to the road infrastructure. A lightweight car does not do the same damage as a truck so why should a mile driven be taxed the same? And why should miles driven out of state be taxed by the resident state?
This mileage tax is NOT inevitable if enough people say He|| No.
Also, a mileage tax is regressive and will hurt people in the working and middle class the most. The rich can afford anything, but the millions of people who have to drive for a living will be hurt: landscapers, truck drivers, courier and delivery companies, in-home nursing aids, real estate, trades people, and all restaurants and stores that depend on deliveries of food and other goods.
A mileage tax will not hurt the people you are talking about any more than the gas tax does now. In fact, in theory it will be more fair as I assume that the working poor or certainly those that drive heavy duty vehicles like delivery drivers probably have cars with worse mileage and certainly are not driving electric cars around, so they subsidize the people who do. Literally, if you drive an electric car right now, you pay none of the taxes that pay for roads, both nationally and in most states. If you change to a mileage based tax, then everyone will pay for their use of the road network.
...Also, a mileage tax is regressive and will hurt people in the working and middle class the most. The rich can afford anything, but the millions of people who have to drive for a living will be hurt: landscapers, truck drivers, courier and delivery companies, in-home nursing aids, real estate, trades people, and all restaurants and stores that depend on deliveries of food and other goods.
When we are prosperous and fully employed, we can afford anything. When we're in a prolonged recession or semi-recession or "jobless recovery" such as we have had since 2008, a broad based tax like this will hurt job growth and it will ratchet up the misery index. People who might have spent their money on savings or on consumer goods and entertainment will instead put it into this road tax...
Agreed. This countries liberal elite never seem to think of the consequences of their special taxes - taxes that always seem to hurt the poor, who they claim they care about.
This is not penalizing the drivers of electric or hybrid vehicles, it is merely asking them to pay their fair share. Those vehicles put the same wear and tear on the roads as any other vehicle, why should they not pay for construction and maintenance costs? At present all the drivers of such vehicles are wearing down the roads at someone else's expense. that is not reasonable.
As far as impact on the working class, this is far more fair to the working class who do not generally use electric or CNG vehicles. Alternative fuel vehicles remain a novelty/luxury vehicle. They are not generally used by people cutting lawns and painting domiciles. House cleaners are not driving the newest state of the art high MPG vehicles - they cannot afford them. They are driving 20 year old clunker vehicles that are not very efficient in their petrol usage. For the working class, this will actually give them a break compared to the current system which forces them to subsidize road work for those who can afford electric or hybrid vehicles.
Actually this tax is far more fair than any of the existing systems, if the revenue is used for road construction and maintenance. This way, everyone will pay for their use of the roads and the wear they place on the infrastructure. However there should be an increased tax based on mileage for heavier vehicles (which place more stress and ear on the roads).
The fact is, between reduced travel, and higher efficiency vehicles, petrol usage volume is down. Therefore revenue for road construction and maintenance is down. However the same number of miles of paved roads are still in use and must be maintained. At petroleum becomes less and less in demand, the old system of paying for road maintenance through taxes on petroleum purchases will become completely unworkable. They must pay for road maintenance somehow, or begin closing roads. A tax based on use of roadways is the only fair resolution.
We've been underfunding our transportation infrastructure for nearly 2 decades, and at the same time, we've continued to add more miles of pavement in this country. The Economist did a great story back in 2010 about the crumbling US infrastructure even including the outdated system the FAA uses to manage flights. What's funny as I read people on this thread complaining about the costs and how it will hurt people....well, it had to be paid at some point. Everyone under 50 should give a big "your welcome" to everyone over 60 right now.
easy, just disconnect the odometer, one advantage of older cars and trucks.
Theoretical situation: Hey I'm selling a 7 year old car and it only has 49,000 on the odometer. Of course each year I did connect the odometer for 6 months so really it has 98,000 miles but hey, I saved a few bucks in mileage tax and you know what they say: Caveat emptor.
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I'll bet they'll be wondering why they wont be swamped with volunteers
