Fuel tax could be replaced with by-the-mile road tax

Fuel tax could be replaced with by-the-mile road tax

www.mcclatchydc.com

What once was science fiction is being field-tested by the University of Iowa to iron out the wrinkles should a by-the-mile road tax ever be enacted.

Besides the technological advances making such a tax possible, the idea is getting a hard push from a growing number of transportation experts and officials. That is because the traditional by-the-gallon fuel tax, struggling to keep up with road building and maintenance demands, could fall even farther behind as vehicles' gas mileage rises

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I did not think this would happen at first, but now it seems it is being pushed through. Do not dismiss that it is still a decade away. It is being tested now, and thus it seems this is going to be the new tax the government uses to get its money. It will not mater if you have converted your car to run on water, or CNG, or battery power. It will not matter what fuel you use, or if your car broke and is being towed. You will be paying a tax for being on a public road.

www.mcclatchydc.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by RedGolem


I do see the uses for this application. Without the roads, we cannot have vehicular transportation. Without vehicular transporation, many disruptions will come to daily life of people and businesses. Taxes are mandatory and we have to fund our overspending government some way.

I see many solutions. Mainly, to stop using roads. Most cars can be outfitted to drive on the grass and offroad conditions. Also, depending on what kind of car you're driving, you can avoid this tax by driving on the railroads, or in the sky.

make sure to buckle up, because air pockets may puncture your windshield

reply to post by nine0099thousand


Although with being taxed by the mile will bring about new interventions to avoid the tax I would rather not see the by the mile tax come to be. I would rather see the government get the tax some other way. Perhaps car parts for example.

I don't think the tax itself is such a big issue here. Some of us, who only drive a few miles a week would certainly benefit from levying a tax in this manner.

What gets my dander up is the technology being used to allow this tax to be feasible. What this means, is somewhere, someone will have detailed records of, at the very LEAST, the number of miles you drive in any given period.

The problem with this simple enough ( on the surface ) proposition is that the easiest way to obtain those numbers is to record Where you start, and where you end up. A long time ago, GPS tracking needed approval from a judge. In 2007 they set a precedent that nullified that requirement.

Fourth Amendment went quietly into the night

So yeah, they will probably just employ GPS like Insurance companies have begun acclimating us to.

Insurance Rates Driven by GPS

With the GPS in the cars, they can keep track of us a little easier, me thinks.

The thing that REALLY bothers me is that not only will they be tracking our vehicles, do you think they will trust us to report those numbers accurately to them. I don't think so. Where that leads us is the capability of pulling up your vehicle, in REAL-TIME and knowing your exact location (within a couple meters) at any given time.

Sound a bit intrusive? Orwellian? Paranoid?

Hmm....

I don't like it.

Don't worry, one tax will never 'replace' another. The per gallon tax may be reduced temporarily, but it will go back up, as tax and spend rolls on.

What is most concerning about this would be having my vehicle tracked constantly. At that point, I guess my jeeps will become 'off road' vehicles only.

www.spyworld.com...

or, if you've got experience with electronics and are cheap:

www.navigadget.com...

They will have about as much luck figuring out where I've gone and how many miles I've driven as they currently would have tracking the GPS signal on my cell phone when I do not wish to appear on their screens. If they ever enact this type of tax system, however, I'd suggest disabling the jammer at least once a week and just taking a leisurely drive to the store, if you prefer disable it after you've left home and drive from one side of town to the other, grab a bite to eat, then restart the jammer well before you get back home. (possibly even in the driveway of someone you don't particularly like, or... if you're adventurous, in the driveway of a prominent politician/law enforcement officer's home shortly after he has kissed his wife goodbye for the day and left for work. Do that a few dozen times within a half hour of them leaving and we'll all find out very quickly which higher ups are using the feature to track more than just miles driven for taxation.)

Hmm, first GPS is installed in all newer cars so that the government can track you with a single call to a company without involving a Judge or bothering with all the paperwork involved in obtaining a Warrant.

Then, the government has built-in Kill-Switches installed in all GM cars in 2009 which allows them to remotely disable any GM car with a single call to a company without involving a Judge or bothering with all the paperwork involved in obtaining a Warrant.

Then, the government wants to put built-in meters in all cars to tax you how many miles you drive (on top of your Local, State, Federal Taxes, Vehicle Tax, Vehicle Fees, DMV Fees, and Gas Taxes that already pay for the roads you drive on. I mean really, do we need to be taxed eight or nine times for the exact same privilege?).

What is next? Built-in governor-devices mandated by the government that keep you from driving above the speed-limit, or keep you from driving when you had a single drink an hour before, or from driving to where you should not be?

Screw all of this! If the government wants to keep track of my car so much then I'm going to commute, ride Public Transportation, bicycle, or just walk to my destination for now on.

It's already too expensive for someone earning $35K a year to afford a 30 year old car and the insurance, fees, taxes, fuel and maintenance just so they can go from home to work as it is already. Tack on another tax for every mile you drive, and then only the $75K a year can afford to drive. Hope they have fun mowing their own lawns, filing their own files, engineering their own networks, answering their own phones, because the Working Class won't be able to work for them anymore.

Horseback and bicycle look better and better every day, at least until they rule them illegal that is. I wonder what the cost to the individual will be to have their vehicles refitted with such devices, because I really don't have the spare cash to spend on such nonsense.

Originally posted by Helig
Horseback and bicycle look better and better every day, at least until they rule them illegal that is. I wonder what the cost to the individual will be to have their vehicles refitted with such devices, because I really don't have the spare cash to spend on such nonsense.

Hey now we are going to need a carbon tax on that hay-burner of yours. Further, we will need to put an RFID chip in him because of equine-born diseases. AND you will need to have a registered farm number (and licensing fees), so that we can correlate the RFID data from your animals.

The bicycle, well, it is just unsafe, NTSA says so.

Ain't it grand that the guvmint is here to help?

Can you imagine what this will do to folks that live in the Midwest? It's not unusual to have to drive 60 miles one way to get to work or find a grocery store or Dr. or hospital. Don't think for one minute that using mass transit will get you out of paying these taxes either! The cost of buying a ticket will reflect your tax burden. Ride a bike and you will still be taxed. Walk? hell yes, your producing to much Carbon Dioxide because of the physical effort. And don't even think about going to the gym or exercise!!!! Or enjoy your grill on holidays! They fully intend to make us paupers and slaves!!

Zindo

it won`t replace fuel tax - a new way for the government to squeeze money from you and me? they will use both.

It's always important to penalize the taxpayers who did what they were supposed to do.

Buy a high mileage car and help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Go green. Take care of the planet.

Are they going to tax my bicycle?
Are they going to tax my compost pile.
Will they tax me for recycling?

If I put solar electric on my house, will that be taxed because the utility companies aren't making enough off of me?

That's what happens when you allow idiots to be elected.

reply to post by Wildbob77


Bob,
That's exactly whats happening here because so many factories and businesses are closing. Our State regulated power companies are calling for a rate hike after getting one that doubled our rates last year!

Zindo

A lot of countries have this as a tax system. Here in New Zealand we have what's called RUC ( Road User Charges).

You go to your local Post Office and buy blocks of x number miles (Kms in NZ). This is only for Diesel as Petrol is a per litre tax.

Not really a big deal just a bit of extra paper work every so often. I think works out to about 0.02 per Km.

It'd be 6 months in and there will be mass hacks.

Please. A machine that will count your miles and tax you?

That will be hacked faster than you can imagine.

reply to post by greenfruit


Thing is, we are ALREADY paying a road use tax of 15%/gal of fuel. Plus state and local tax on that same gallon. for the most part in this country thee is no other way to travel. We are captive anywhere but an innner city and even then some cities could not provide the transportation service needed with out more huge taxes on the citizens of those cities to purchase busses and rail services!

Zindo

ONe less reason to get a built in GPS. Get a stand alone GPS. If they ask how many miles. Tell them to read the odometer.

That is so funny. People are trying to make more fuel efficient cars to get more miles. THe government says. Lets tax the miles too now. This is total BS

[edit on 1-7-2009 by THE_PROFESSIONAL]

Thanks to everyone who is posting.
After pondering this for a while, I have started to think that like it or lump it, it is going to happen. I personal still don't like it for the reasons that have all ready been stated. We change our lives to use less fuel, and to thank us the government starts charging us for each mile we drive. That is really kind of getting the shaft from both ends.