Congress is looking into taxing drivers by the number of miles they drive their cars, now that technology would allow electronic metering.
The Obama administration wants to spend $556 billion on improving transportation. The gas tax, which pays for highway improvements, has not been able to keep up with the spending on transportation. Plus, we now have electric vehicles, which don’t use gas.
The Congressional Budget Office last week issued a report discussing a proposal for a tax on vehicle miles traveled (VMT), which detailed how technology would be used to track and tax drivers.
The tax would have two benefits: it would raise funds and it would provide an incentive for people to find alternative means of transportation to reduce traffic on overused roads.
The states of Oregon, Washington and Georgia have performed tests on implementing a VMT.
The CBO report was requested by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.).
“A consensus view of many transportation experts and economists is that a system of taxes on vehicle-miles traveled should be viewed as the leading alternative to fuel taxes as a source of funding for highways,” the report said.
It concludes that it’s feasible to track vehicles but it doesn’t give a full cost to implementing the system.
Source: CNET, The Hill.com
Amy,
I can’t believe this article. Your main readers are employees or owners of a small business who know first hand the detrimental effect of complying with big govt rules, regulations and taxes. This one sided article seems to have been spoon fed by big govt. and the regurgitated by ceoutlook.com. No outrage over the 1/2 of a TRILLION dollars the govt wants to spend to support a bloated govt program that only supports govt employees and is mainly a state responsibility. No mention of the fact that the govt subsidizes electric cars then is too stupid to realize the ramifications of not being able to collect gas taxes from them. Aren’t we supposed to be “green”? You didn’t even address the obvious infringement on personal liberty at the hands of some faceless bureaucrat that can track you at anytime, anywhere. You could have spent 5 or 10 minutes researching some of these concerns. If this is the best that journalism, geared toward the independent small business owner, can offer, we are in a sorry condition.
Dave
Car Audio Retailer
Southern California
Would the system cover the cost of implementing this idea PLUS make a surplus to fix the roads? There are so many more things to think about. I mean, we can’t ask EVERY vehicle on the road to have some sort of mileage tracker installed. It would cost too much and then our “money source” idea is a flop. Unless they make the consumer pay for it, and that’s going too far. Someone who needs a breathalyser installed DOES need to pay for that… Totally different scenario. They would also need to either subcontract or create a business similar to the vehicle emissions stations that would be monitoring this, and that’s another cost on top. I don’t see this actually creating additional revenue without causing several other downward-spiraling issues. Just my 2 cents!
Andy E
Westminster Speed
it is all about tracking you and taxing you more
if you are a sales rep and you need to travel
this will kill your Company I just travled FL
with My reps and no easy way around.
Keep them OUT OF MY LIFE BUT IT WILL NOT
HAPPEN BECAUSE NO ONE CARES.
THANKS
BEN
I live in Washington and we have the highest gas tax in the country.
Our roads are horrible. Our state does not spend the money on the roads that is collected. They spend the gas tax on just about everything but the roads. I am also taxed for the roads in my PROPERTY TAX (800.00) This year.
If anyone that is thinking of moving here think again. We are taxed to death and cant seem to get Olympia to stop spending money on gov. Programs.
Listen up Olympia, Start cutting programs. The Money tree is dead.
Overtaxed and broke.
Fellahs,
In another life I have looked very closely at the idea of VMT taxes abnd the technology to implement such a tax method. No doubt you all know about the GPS technology and wireless transmission about all kinds of telematics information, speed (forget photo tickets and radar traps), location (length of stay) emmissions release, miles traveled on which dates at which times, mechanical and electrical condition of the car, quantity of occupants in the car, and on and on and on…
The good…
Could be a great retrofit business. Some of you already conduct the alchaol tests on cars of drivers convicted of DUI. This technology will reqires only hardware install. The government will conduct the “survailance” and information collection.
The bad…
The government will conduct the “24/7 survailance” and information collection.
This will be a good reason to GET INVOLVED in the discussion.
Ray Windsor
German Maestro