Posted on 03/26/2006 5:10:28 AM PST by runvus
Gas tax on miles, not gallons, tested PORTLAND, Ore., March 25 (UPI) -- Oregon is testing the idea of collecting highway funds through a tax on miles driven, rather than gasoline consumed.
Eighty percent of Oregon's highway money comes from its 24-cents-per-gallon gas tax. If the state promotes reducing gasoline consumption and consumers tend to buy the fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids, highway revenues would take a hit, The New York Times reported.
The test program uses a global positioning system to track miles driven, using a black box to calculate how many miles are clocked in-state, out of state and during rush hour.
The experiment is designed to increase state revenue for road maintenance without raising gasoline taxes, but critics say collecting GPS records poses new privacy issues.
"The existence of such a database, which would, for the first time in history, allow for the creation of detailed daily itineraries of every driver, raises obvious privacy concerns," said David L. Sobel, general counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a civil liberties group in Washington.
Yeah well, they would just track my ass right out of their stinkin state and forever. Glad I don't have to make that decision, man oh man Oregon is becoming Nazified right before our eyes.
Comrade, if you're not doing anything illegal, why should you mind a government GPS tracker in your car?
Nonsense. Some al-Qaeda agent with pics of a politician in bed with a dead girl or live boy probably got this introduced in the first place to protect their revenue stream.
V for Vendetta looks more prophetic each year....
Leftists are going to impose their values on the nation through behavior taxation. That is just great and so much better than Falwell taxing each act of viewing porn. /s/
Not just them, but motorcycles too, I imagine.
Sigh (shakes head).
I do believe Ashland belongs on that list!
No need to install a GPS tracker at .gov expense the sheeple pay for them themselves they call it a cell phone or OBD-II you wonder why the OS that runs the emissions controls and engine management is encrypted better than the FBI's computers Really look it up: http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/199804/96-1392a.txt
I said years ago on this forum that this is what it was going to come to.
You won't even get pulled over. You will get your ticket in the mail for everything for failing to signal a lane change, for exceeding the speed limit, to not wearing your seat belt.
Remember who said it first.
Does the State use no-bid contracts?
Sometime during the next ten years, I fully expect to see the inside of a jail cell for some sort of contrived infraction against the greater good.
See post # 13
of course.
That damned dromedary is just about flat by now don't ya' think?
Why make it more complicated? Cars have to get smog tests and such once a year, so just have that test include the number of miles on the speedometer. Subtract from last years total and add the tax on the miles driven to the smog test fee, plus a buck or two fee for the tester. Nice and easy.
You wrote -- "They severely restrict land use by prohibiting the building of intown high-density housing..."
My understanding, from living there, is that it's the opposite of what you're talking about. They actually want to use those land-use laws and regulations to pull people into town and not push them far out. And they have a term -- "densification" -- which is the opposite of what you're talking about. They're talking about having services and people "densified" and in closer proximity, making it so people can get all their services and needs "close-in" rather than drive long distances. And also, Portland is known for being a "walking town", as a lot of people walk and run and ride bikes and so on. It's not so bad, having done it all myself.
So, actually, my understanding (and experience) is the opposite of what you're saying.
And if you were living there right now, you would see all sorts of in-town, high-density living going on -- all sorts of new construction happening.
Regards,
Star Traveler
You said -- "No, there is no sales tax on goods. Oregon does not have a real estate transfer tax either. Oregon only has a 9% income tax. Also, we have gas station attendents pump our gas!!"
Yep, the no sales tax is a good thing -- for sure. I'm down in Texas for a while and I sure hate paying that sales tax. I'll be glad to have no sales tax again.
Regards,
Star Traveler
So now the lefties want to trash privacy rights and fuel efficient cars in order to gain tax revenue, too funny!
You said -- "Actually Marion County (Salem) is pretty conservative. The most Liberal areas in Oregon are now Portland, Corvallis, Eugene, and the coast."
Well, what you names just about encompasses 80% of the population of the entire state. The rest of the state is devoid of people.
Regards,
Star Traveler
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