Mileage Tax Creates Hybrid Disincentive

HybridCars.com ^ | Maria McLean

[Pete-R-Bilt]

Mileage Tax Creates Hybrid Disincentive

	By Maria McLean

A Tale of Taxes, Tolls, and User Fees
If you use something, you should pay for it. Hard to argue with that, yes? Well, some folks in Oregon are pushing that concept to a degree that might change your mind—particularly if you drive a hybrid car.

Government agencies have been increasing fees and taxes to pay for things we all use every day. Oregon is extending that effort to another degree entirely through a pilot program where cars are taxed not on the fuel they consume, but on the miles they drive.

Would this involve toll roads? Definitely not—toll roads slow down traffic and infuriate drivers who feel they shouldn’t pay at the tollbooth for something they already financed at the pump. Instead, Oregon’s Office of Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding wants to let drivers travel where they will, collecting the money where everyone has to stop eventually—at the pump. California and Washington, too, are watching Oregon's experience closely.

Tax Equity for Gas Hogs
University of Oregon researchers came up with the method—at the behest of state officials—to tax drivers by total in-state miles, rather than by gallons of gas consumed. Thus, a Hummer would pay the same as a Honda Insight to cruise Oregon's trails. A pilot program consisting of around 280 volunteer drivers is planned for this year.

Transponders (at the cost of $225 per car) that communicate with receivers at gas pumps (another chunk of change) would charge (still more) for each mile driven. Global Positioning System (GPS) devices will ensure that only travel within the state, driven by state residents, is charged.

Libertarians not so Civil over Orwellian Objective
A few years ago, this would have been impossible. For one thing, the GPS system is controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense and, until Clinton changed the rules in 2000, it was programmed to be slightly less accurate for civilian GPS receivers to ensure security.

For another, the plan gives chills to those worried about Big Brother's ubiquitous presence. Sure, officials say that police wouldn't have access to the individuals' GPS receivers, citing a 2003 case in which the Washington State Supreme Court decided that a search warrant was required to snoop via GPS.

However, the federal Patriot Act makes it easy to secure such warrants. And who deserves to be watched is always in the eye of the beholder. Mere "association" with, for example, a gang member is cause for suspicion in many areas; ethnicity, race, sex, age, or even religious affiliation could potentially suffice in others. If you doubt your name could ever make the list, you probably haven't been paying attention.

People who Enjoy Breathing Weigh in
The problem with the mileage tax, Chris Hagerbaumer of the Oregon Environmental Council told CBS recently, is that the government ignores the impact of such a policy on air quality. "We look at it from the angle of, are people paying their fair share of the road system as well as the air pollution," Hagerbaumer says. She criticizes the state for focusing exclusively on raising revenue, missing the bigger picture.

Thus far, the committee charged with developing the mileage tax has paid no attention to air quality impact, which is also a huge contributor to state expenses. As the federal government shifts more health care burden onto the states, they need to find ways to reduce the cost of health care. Such chronic diseases as asthma and emphysema, linked to polluted air in congested areas, are among the most expensive. The American Heart Association also links stroke and heart disease to pollution.

Oregon, Schmoregon
So why should you care you live in one of the 49 states not named Oregon? You care because the federal government has a voracious appetite for highway and transportation spending—motor fuel taxes of $0.184 per gallon account for 90 percent of the federal highway trust fund. And this money-hungry beast has an eye on similar GPS-based taxation models. The Senate Finance Committee, in a voice vote April 19, 2005, established a six-year, $16.5 million study on the feasibility of moving to GPS-driven, mileage-based taxation. This will be added to the transportation bill, which emerged from the House already replete with plenty of regional projects.

In addition to such pork-barrel boondoggles as the Bridge to Nowhere, federal lawmakers can expect to reap campaign contributions and lobbying junkets from corporate players interested in seeing such a change in tax calculations.

The Long View
Tax policies have a way of changing behaviors. But Oregon is not hoping that by charging per mile, people will drive less. The state wants to maintain or increase its current revenue stream without having to do the dirty work of raising tax rates. Until people realize that they have to pay, one way or another, for their choices, politicians will continue to invent new ways to "lower" taxes by raising monies through other means.

In this case, it seems that a better choice for Oregon's future might be another fee. Instead of having a private company be paid $225 for every GPS unit installed, why not simply institute an up-front registration fee of about that much, on a sliding scale weighted toward gas guzzlers or heavier vehicles—or both? Wouldn’t it make sense to have the driver of a 5,000-pound SUV pay more than the driver of a 2600-pound Civic? Since the infrastructure required to collect registration fees is already in place, there would be a huge savings over inventing a whole new transportation paradigm. And just maybe the scales would tilt in favor of cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars while not breaking Oregon's delicate budget—and stiffing the people who choose to drive more economical vehicles.

[Pete-R-Bilt]

So we want to save the spotted owl, and we want clean water, and we want to breath clean air.

AND WE DAMN WELL WANT YOUR TAX MONEY AT ANY COST !

is that about it?

[Pete-R-Bilt]

boink!

[vpintheak]

Why don't we all just work for the government while we're at it? Oh wait, that's been tried and failed miserably with deadly consequences.

[Hank Rearden]

Transponders (at the cost of $225 per car) that communicate with receivers at gas pumps (another chunk of change) would charge (still more) for each mile driven. Global Positioning System (GPS) devices will ensure that only travel within the state, driven by state residents, is charged.

Nail the doors shut, with parasites inside, and burn down the State Capitol, howzabout?

F these useless oxygen thieves.

[AzaleaCity5691]

My advice to anyone who lives in Oregon, leave the state and move for brither pastures, like Mississippi

[Pete-R-Bilt]

and don't forget

California and Washington, too, are watching Oregon's experience closely

[conservativeinferno]

One day they will tax the air we breathe.

[KarlInOhio]

The squirrels at my house chewed through the power cable on the GPS transceiver again. Bad squirrels, bad squirrels.

[Andy from Beaverton]

If it moves, TAX IT!!!

[BJungNan]

For Sale: Little Black Box to fool your auto transponder. Coming to the black market near you.

[satchmodog9]

We expected what exactly?

[cherry]

I have relatives there but fortunatley, fairly near the Washington border....

we WILL NEVER LET THIS HAPPEN IN WASHINGTON, RIGHT, FOLKS?

[RightWhale]

As usual, there is more than one program going on in the USA. Consistency is not one of those programs.

[Pete-R-Bilt]

not sure, but doesn't it smell a little like Kyoto, with a Hillary sauce on it?

[King Prout]

no way would I allow such a monitor device to remain in or on my vehicle

[B4Ranch]

If I turn the mile backwards on the odometer, do I get a credit?

[goldstategop]

In the People's Republic Of Oregon, its about forcing people out of their cars, and failing that to force them to drive only the number of miles per day the elites see fit to allow. Its about having the government decide what car you can drive, where you can drive it, when you can drive it and how far (and how much) you can drive it. Shades Of Big Brother!

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[goldstategop]

And the water we drink. If there's something still left that's truly free, rest assured, the bureaucrats will figure out how to tax it.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[winner3000]

No, we don't need liberals in Mississippi. They already screwed up one state. Now should be forced to live with their mess.

[Fresh Wind]

Who is so stupid that they don't realize that this scheme gives the government the tools to implement a totally automated speeding ticket distribution system?