Posted on 03/24/2011 4:37:42 PM PDT by DoctorBulldog
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week released a report that said taxing people based on how many miles they drive is a possible option for raising new revenues and that these taxes could be used to offset the costs of highway maintenance at a time when federal funds are short.
The report discussed the proposal in great detail, including the development of technology that would allow total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to be tracked, reported and taxed, as well as the pros and cons of mandating the installation of this technology in all vehicles.
"In the past, the efficiency costs of implementing a system of VMT charges — particularly the costs of users' time for slowing and queuing at tollbooths — would clearly have outweighed the potential benefits from more efficient use of highway capacity," CBO wrote. "Now, electronic metering and billing are making per-mile charges a practical option.
[...]
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
It does if you shovel enough of the shovel readiers.
Taxes, taxes, taxes. :)
Raise ‘em, raise ‘em, raise ‘em!
Can’t figure out who’s crossing the southern border - that’s too hard, but they can keep track of how far we drive.
Have a nice day peasants. :)
“This is a TERRIBLE way to generate tax revenue.
A better solution for encouraging people to drive more fuel-efficient cars is to impose an excise tax based on engine displacement and physical size of a car—something that has been done in Europe and Japan for several decades”
Your missing the point, what happens once the gas prices go up due to excessive taxes and others, and the Federal standards that Obama has required on the Auto industry? What will they tax next, once they spend all that money up? If you drive an fuel efficient car, they still want to be able to tax you.
Yup, but the minute the price per gallon gits too high and we are all forced to cut back as Obama wants, the revenue from gas taxes drops like a rock and then they'll REALLY want to shift to the actual mileage tax that will inhibit everyone further till cars will become useless as in Carter's Presiduncy!!!
After three years and over 200,000 miles, the engine blew. The odometer had 36,000 miles on it. The dealer said they never saw an engine that bad in such a finely maintained car. It still had the factory brakes on it because I hardly used em and they glazed over.
That engine went another approx 80,000 before the top end went out. Again the dealer did a replacement of the top end and the odometer read about 66,000 miles. I sold the car to a cousin who still has it to this day as his family car. He told me he just let her roll over 80,000 to seem fair.
What a great way to stimulate business. Who do they think drives all the miles? It ain’t the food stamp, welfare crowd. It is business people out making it happen. Servicing accounts, delivering things, selling things, etc. How anti business can it possibly get?
if they think the never-ending outcry about Obamacare has been fun, just let ‘em try this!
The only thing that sucks worse than driving in Illinois is driving on the New York Thruway (high tolls, faded road markings, potholes, bumps, many street lights don't work, people speeding).
Good point. They're nothing but freeloaders. Tax them more. If they can afford a prius, they can afford to pay extra. That should bring in the cash. ( I can just hear them whining already)
“Eliminate 800% of all government agencies and fire everyone that works for them and WE DON’T NEED REVENUE ENHNACEMENT!”
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Don’t be a piker, eliminate 1000% of all government agencies, then require that no new agency can be created unless two old agencies are eliminated.
So here we are, looking at a mileage tax. It’s very emotional, since it squarely attacks one of our major freedoms in the US, which is the ability to get in our cars and drive around without ANYONE knowing what we’re doing. We can even drive cross-country and it’s likely that no one will know we ever left home, if we pay cash the whole way and stay clear of places (like motels) where they require ID. So, I want to take a calm and measured look at this.
In my case, based on my income (assuming, of course, it continues), my debts (very small, just a house payment at 20% of my take-home, and my cash at hand (plenty), I figure that I can pay whatever tolling rates they want, without barely noticing. And, if they did implement this scheme, it would almost certainly clear the roads of traffic, something that I would like (although others would have a tough time affording to drive on those clear roads - after all there is a reason why they’d be clear). In other words, from a purely selfish standpoint, I should support this scheme...but I don’t.
So why not? In a perfect world, where Atlas DOESN’T have to shrug and where everyone acted as finely tuned robots, nothing could be better than pricing road travel to assure the exact same level of traffic at 4:30 in the morning as 4:30 in the afternoon...and the same traffic at 5 AM Sunday, as 5 PM Friday. We would simply get the best use out of our roads. That is why this idea sits well at CATO and Heritage...where very well-paid, pointy-headed guys simply want to be able to drive home after work without having to “fight the traffic”. But, of course, it’s not that simple.
So, let’s step back and look at why we might want to impose a Vehicle Mileage Tax (VMT). I can think of several reasons:
1) There are two many cars on the road at a given time (i.e., rush hour).
2) We are importing too much oil.
3) We are not collecting enough revenue to fix and expand our roads.
4) People are driving cars that are too big
5) We are emitting too much carbon
6) Driving without restrictions simply represents too much freedom for a modern, progressive, society.
7) We want to sell-off our roads to someone with lots of cash, to pay down the national debt.
So, you step back and try to figure out how to address the above and look at the options.
Option 1: Increase revenue enough enough money to keep up with highway needs
Option 2: Increase revenue enough to seriously cut down on road travel and provide extra money for social programs.
Option 3: Control the movements of people, and allow those movements to be monitored...also pay back debts to other countries.
You find that an increase of the gas tax will help with everything except #6 and #7, which is controlling freedom and paying our debts. Even with a high gas tax, people will still drive where they want, when they want. If money is just needed for highway repair and expansion, an increase of the gas tax of, maybe, 25 to 50 cents per gallon will easily cover it. If we want to cut way back on imported oil, then 2 to 4 dollars per gallon of tax increase will cover it. That same increase (2 to 4 dollars per gallon) will also provide PLENTY of revenue to repair and expand highways...and the expanding part will not even be necessary with fuel prices that high (i.e., there will be a LOT less driving).
So we come down to #6 and #7. #6 (i.e., monitoring of peoples’ movements) is obvious - once you have GPS, then THE G-MAN will know where you are at any time. For #7, you’re getting into how to payback our creditors (mainly the Chinese and Japanese, but also much of Europe and US banks). The idea is that once a mileage-based tolling system is in place, the revenue can be sent overseas and our banks...which may prevent WW3 (particularly after we finish disarming). The amount of money that can be generated...if priced for maximum revenue, is likely 30 to 50 cents per mile (average)...or close to a trillion dollars per year.
To be honest, I have no clue what the long-term intentions are, I only look at what COULD be done.
Needless to say, this crap needs to be stopped PRONTO, as we have much better options than giving government control over where we drive, what we drive, and when we drive.
“It’s also a great way to provide an aliby to prove you weren’t somewhere.”
Or vice-versa. So your boss says that you took a long lunch...and can now PROVE it.
I had to keep checking if this was satire..
They are killing us, I almost can’t breath anymore!
“I’ll tell you how, they are going to keep track of you via a GPS unit installed in your car! “
GPS jammers will be all the rage then or at least a good hammer will take care of the thing.
http://www.slate.com/id/2087207/
If the gov’t decides they want GPS’s on your car - and you want to drive - you will be driving with a GPS unit on your car...or be fined, charged etc
What I'm contemplating is breeding donkey's and making donkey carts - Laugh now - but wait a couple years. ;o)
“One day they will figure out how to tax how much I piss.”
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Isn’t beer taxed already?
The list, ping
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Anyone who can't leave the office for two hours is hiding something.
Look at #49!
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