Oregon looks at per-mile tax on gas sippers (Salem: 2013, transfer)

[Shankapotomus]

Originally Posted by Fargobound

A liberal wet dream. They beg and plead for people to buy fuel efficient vehicles, but switch tactics when revenue drops.

Just remember, if the bill did pass, electric car owners would only pay the tax. They would no longer have to pay for gas. And if they have solar panels installed on their home, they wouldn't have to pay for all the electricity either.

[Beenhere4ever]

Honestly, I think there have been ample incentives for fuel-efficient cars. Why is it people are so resistent to the idea of paying to keep the roads driveable? How many of those bridges that could collapse from rust and decay does Oregon have? All over the country they number in the thousands. The nationwide use of taxes as a whipping boy for political gain has turned our most essential assets shoddy. Our imports come in from coastal ports, but after they unload, the transport infrastructure governs the ability to distribute. We can't just keep pretending roads and bridges fix themselves like some reptiles. How many people raised this big a fuss when Halliburton was wasting hundreds of billions in government contracts? There are places to save on taxes, but infrastructure is not one of them.

http://www.thebentinel.com/031212-ha...-snickers.html

[Steve Pickering]

If electric cars must pay (And they should) then Bicycles should pay also. Many electric car owners are using taxpayer funded charging stations and don't pay a dime.

[Squidlo]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

If electric cars must pay (And they should) then Bicycles should pay also. Many electric car owners are using taxpayer funded charging stations and don't pay a dime.

Steve,

It would crack me up to see a bicycle tax. For all the moneys spent on bike ways and traffic changes to accommodate bicyclists. Seeing a price tag associated with it might change a few tunes.

I did commute to work on a bike and did all my shopping on a bike for an extended period (over a year). I don't remember thinking "yeah I need my own lane". I don't remember thinking I was saving the planet by biking and was deserving anything extra for it. I do remember thinking "at the end of this I can buy a vehicle and get out of the weather".

My definition of fair includes understanding costs associated with my life. I will pay my share. I am not anti road/fuel tax.

Why not work on a fair system that accounts for fair use and charge accordingly? No special exemptions.

[Beenhere4ever]

Actually, I have thought for a while with all the money spent to make cities "bike friendly" that bikes should be licensed or something. Not sure of the mechanism, but it totally makes sense that people with bikes pay SOMETHING. The whole argument "we shouldn't pay because we're good for the environment" is opportunistic. No reason everyone else should maintain roads but one group use them for free. I would guess it would have to be for people with cash incomes because I'm seeing homeless people with bikes (not in Portland, but it may be true there, too). But some rich lawyer who decides to "keep fit" by riding a bike could surely pay something.

[PNW-type-gal]

Amazing how every discussion of transportation in Oregon gets hijacked to revolve around Portland's pro- and anti-bicycle crowd.

[Beenhere4ever]

After further thought, I think the funding formula for infrastructure should evolve. The world is different from the times when gas taxes were channeled into a trust fund. Fuel taxes should carry the biggest part of the burden, but there should be a contribution from the general fund so that people who have incomes but no need to pay fuel taxes still help maintain necessary infrastructure that benefits everyone. Just as the real estate tax should be made less generous. Real estate is way different form the postwar era when the thought was to make home ownership a viable dream for troops coming home. That tax break is involved in the last meltdown and needs some tweaking.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

Amazing how every discussion of transportation in Oregon gets hijacked to revolve around Portland's pro- and anti-bicycle crowd.

It wasn't hijacked. it is the same catagory, and for the same reasons. It is a real issue the bike riders and Ecocar drivers want to sweep under the rug.

[Terryj]

Electric vehicles do need to pay their share of road tax, that is if they use the hiways. One way of doing this would to collect it at the time of registration and renewal. It's not that difficult, just look at the mileage every two years and collect the tax due.

[jimj]

Not for nothin', trucks pay heavy road use taxes,road use taxes tacked on to gasoline and propane powered vehicles as well as LNG vehicles which is fair, they all use the road. If a location is pushing a certain mode of transportation be it bicycle,electric cars etc there should be a use tax associated with it especially if special road construction is added just for their benefit.
Why should non bike riders (and I've got no,repeat NO issue with bikes) shoulder the whole burden for something they don't use but use the pavement they are paying for?
Biker welfare?