Land of Decree and Home of the Slave: States move closer to taxing you by how far you drive

Interest in the new tax has blossomed as states see their revenues shrinking from gasoline taxes -- usually used for road maintenance. The decline results from new cars with better gas mileage and thus less gasoline sold to be taxed. And this trend is sure to continue, since federal regulations require automakers to keep boosting the gas mileage of new cars, SUVs and pickups. In addition, the spread of all-electric cars and gas-electric hybrids has further lowered gas tax revenues.

"Per-mile charges are the most high-profile and discussed alternative to the gas tax," said Jaime Rall, a transportation specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures. "States want to know if this is going to be a viable way to fund transportation into the future."

The question of lost revenues with the gas tax arises especially with all-electric cars like the Nissan Leaf or Tesla models. Those motorists pay no gas tax at all, although their electric bills do include some taxes.

The Oregon pilot programs seeks to demonstrate whether a per-mile tax is a practical possibility. The state is finding 5,000 volunteers to pay 1.5-cents-per-mile tax instead of the 30 cents-per-gallon gas tax. Devices will report their mileage to the state. Other states are trying smaller pilot projects, including Nevada, Washington, Minnesota and California. The U.S. Senate passed a bill calling for a $90 million pilot project involving 10,000 cars. But the House leadership killed the bill after complaints from rural lawmakers that such a tax would unfairly penalize their constituents, who tend to drive farther than city drivers.

Originally developed for insurance companies to measure driving habits and potentially use them to lower your rates, these devices now are being modified to simply track mileage driven for state tax purposes. Progressive Insurance gives policy holders who volunteer a device to plug into the diagnostic port in their cars. The device sends back not only the number of miles driven but also whether you drive aggressively (speeding up, then braking sharply, for instance).

In a similar program, GMAC insurance uses technology already installed in some General Motors cars. The OnStar service, which also can alert an operator to call 911 in an emergency or remotely diagnose a car's problems, reports actual miles driven for subscribers who sign up for the insurance plan to qualify for discounts.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/states-move-closer-to-taxing-you-by-how-far-you-drive/
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Anarcho-Capitalist, AnCaps Forum, Ancapolis, OZschwitz Contraband
“The state calls its own violence law, but that of the individual, crime.”-- Max Stirner
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Land of Decree and Home of the Slave: States move closer to taxing you by how far you drive

Land of Decree and Home of the Slave: States move closer to taxing you by how far you drive

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