[Vision2020] Tax by the mile

[Donovan Arnold]

Yes, please do this. Knock the tax off the gas and charge per mile instead.  
I can just buy a 10 Gallon tank and bring that into the gas station (or own 
a second car I bring to the station and I siphon gas from). These guys are 
so smart for thinking this stuff up. It also makes sense to charge persons 
with age and people with a physical disability that cannot walk everywhere 
more for their transportation because we all know they are loaded from those 
$600 a month social security checks.  Some people's ingenuity really can get 
creative when it comes to exploiting the individual for what little 
resources they may have left.

DJA



>From: "David M. Budge" <dave at davebudge.com>
>To: Vision2020 Moscow <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Subject: [Vision2020] Tax by the mile
>Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 13:51:53 +0000
>
>(I emailed this previously, but it seems to have fallen into the bit bucket 
>- if a duplicate is delivered I apologize in advance.)
>
>What say you to this Republicans and Democrats?
>
>Dave Budge
>
>
><http://www.cbsnews.com>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>States Mull Taxing Drivers By Mile
>CORVALLIS, Ore., Feb. 14, 2005
>
>
>College student Jayson Just commutes an odometer-spinning 2,000 miles a 
>month. As CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports, his monthly gas 
>bill once topped his car payment.
>
>"I was paying about $500 a month," says Just.
>
>So Just bought a fuel efficient hybrid and said goodbye to his gas-guzzling 
>BMW.
>
>And what kind of mileage does he get?
>
>"The EPA estimate is 60 in the city, 51 on the highway," says Just.
>
>And that saves him almost $300 a month in gas. It's great for Just but bad 
>for the roads he's driving on, because he also pays a lot less in gasoline 
>taxes which fund highway projects and road repairs. As more and more 
>hybrids hit the road, cash-strapped states are warning of rough roads 
>ahead.
>
>Officials in car-clogged California are so worried they may be considering 
>a replacement for the gas tax altogether, replacing it with something 
>called "tax by the mile 
><javascript:vlaunch('clip=/media/2005/02/14/video674142.rm&sec=3420&vidId=3420&title=TaxingByTheMile&hitboxMLC=eveningnews');>."
>
>
>Seeing tax dollars dwindling, neighboring Oregon has already started road 
>testing the idea.
>
>"Drivers will get charged for how many miles they use the roads, and it's 
>as simple as that," says engineer David Kim.
>
>Kim and his team at Oregon State University equipped a test car with a 
>global positioning device to keep track of its mileage. Eventually, every 
>car would need one.
>
>"So, if you drive 10 miles you will pay a certain fee which will be, let's 
>say, one tenth of what someone pays if they drive 100 miles," says Kim.
>
>The new tax would be charged each time you fill up. A computer inside the 
>gas pump would communicate with your car's odometer to calculate how much 
>you owe.
>
>The system could also track how often you drive during rush hour and charge 
>higher fees to discourage peak use. That's an idea that could break the 
>bottleneck on California's freeways.
>
>"We're getting a lot of interest from other states," says Jim Whitty of the 
>Oregon Department of Transportation. "They're watching what we're doing.
>
>"Transportation officials across the country are concerned about what's 
>going to happen with the gas tax revenues."
>
>Privacy advocates say it's more like big brother riding on your bumper, not 
>to mention a disincentive to buy fuel-efficient cars.
>
>"It's not fair for people like me who have to commute, and we don't have 
>any choice but take the freeways," says Just. "We shouldn't have to be 
>taxed."
>
>But tax-by-mile advocates say it may be the only way to ensure that fuel 
>efficiency doesn't prevent smooth sailing down the road.
>
>
>
>© MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
>
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