[JD59]

With gas tax revenues down, state officials eye tax on 'vehicle miles traveled'

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Carpooling, higher fuel economy, hybrids and electric cars may be good for the environment, but they're bad for government transportation funding, which relies on gasoline and diesel taxes to help pay for the building and upkeep of roads and bridges.

Now some states, including Vermont, are mapping out a possible alternative: taxing drivers not based on how much fuel is burned but how far each vehicle travels.

Gas tax revenue down, officials eye mileage levy - Yahoo! Finance

[joe moving]

We can put this (particular aspect of it at least) to bed right now. Not many people would agree to the govt tracking their miles by GPS:

Vermont Transportation Secretary Brian Searles said calculating how much of a VMT tax is owed would be done through the global positioning system devices that are expected to be standard equipment in cars later this decade.

"It's a GPS device that is capable of tracking location, time," he said, adding that he was aware that might raise privacy concerns.

[ladelfina]

This seems absolutely crazy to me... just raise the gas tax instead. Privacy aside, who's counting the cost of these gadgets (I assume that not everyone is going to have a new car with GPS) and the extra bureaucracy to track their info and collect the tax in addition to collecting the gas tax which is a procedure already in place?? This sounds like it's being driven by some technology-firm lobbyist.

[pauldorell]

Originally Posted by ladelfina

This seems absolutely crazy to me... just raise the gas tax instead. Privacy aside, who's counting the cost of these gadgets (I assume that not everyone is going to have a new car with GPS) and the extra bureaucracy to track their info and collect the tax in addition to collecting the gas tax which is a procedure already in place?? This sounds like it's being driven by some technology-firm lobbyist.

The gadgets are coming. Car insurance companies are already introducing tracking as a way to customize rates based on actual driving habits.

[arctichomesteader]

It'd be a cold day in hell before I let the government put a tracking device in my car. This proposal is absurd.

[Logs and Dogs]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

It'd be a cold day in hell before I let the government put a tracking device in my car. This proposal is absurd.

What he said.....

Is that freedom? Liberty? have these words been removed from the dictionary?

[FrugalYankee]

Well yes, in Vermont they certainly have.

[DauntlessDan]

Costa Pappis sounds like a transplant from the city. That aside, where is the sense in going to an electric/hybrid car if not to save money on gasoline? Some hard-core environmentalists would argue that it's worth the cost because of the environment but I think that most of us would want the savings on gasoline usage as well (and resultant lower costs associated with it). This will negate that. I take it if they start charging people a mileage tax (and no, I would not agree to a GPS tracker either to which the alternative would probably be some sort of flat fee/penalty) that the gasoline tax will go away. YEAH RIGHT!

[stevemorse]

Vermont is a rural state, meaning people dont live in cities and have no public transportation and have to drive alot!! This is a terrible idea!! I mean lets say you move into the woods far from civilization because its cheaper. Well they are screwing that up if they do this to people. So people will then move into just the big convienent cities.

[LisaMc46]

If you think this is scary you should research the "heat tax" that's being proposed by the energy efficiency task force Shumlin created last year.

You will either pay a carbon tax of 10 cents per gallon on oil or 5 cents on propane or a BTU tax of 12 cents per gallon on oil and 8 cents on propane, or the state will just add the 6 percent sales tax to all heating fuel deliveries. The money will be used for home weatherization programs through 2020.

The Legislature is expected to debate this as soon as they finish reading the 75-page report the task force released last week.

If I weren't behind on my heating bill---and facing a series of minus-zero days--- I might laugh at the absurdity of this given that the state is begging the feds for more money for its home-heating assistance program.