Posted on 03/25/2011 7:10:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Dumb ideas never die in Washington, DC. They just get stuck in committee. Proving that once again is outgoing Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), attempting to revive an idea for a new tax that was so intrusive and unwieldy that even Barack Obama had to disavow it two years ago when his Transportation Secretary starting pushing the notion. Conrad points to a new CBO study saying that taxing Americans on their car mileage will provide a windfall for the federal government:
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.”
The report was requested by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who held a hearing on transportation funding in early March. In that hearing, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the Obama administration is hoping to spend $556 billion over the next six years, much of which would go to federal transportation improvement projects.
A “practical option” for whom, exactly? Perhaps for the IRS, but certainly not for taxpayers. One shudders to think what happens when the IRS gets your annual mileage wrong and a taxpayer disputes the record. Where were you on the night of April 19th, Canarsie? We show you drove 6.3 miles to Bada-Bing Strip Club in New Jersey. Even if exact destinations aren’t recorded (earlier suggestions were to use GPS devices), the taxpayer would get hit with a massive bill during the annual tax-preparation ritual with little or no chance to dispute the claims of the government.
Plus, let’s talk about equipment costs, both private and public. This new tax system would require tracking equipment in every vehicle, which would mean retrofit costs for current vehicles and higher prices for new cars immediately. What are the unemployed supposed to do — stop driving? That should help when it comes to looking for work.
The government will either have to use GPS devices (that will track and record destination data) or install tollbooth passes every few miles on every road in America. The IRS will also have to set up an enforcement bureau to ensure that drivers don’t disable their tracking systems. In California, this meant that every driver had to get semiannual emission-control equipment inspections, an expensive waste of time and money for most drivers. Will the IRS, which is just now branching out into the health-insurance inspection business, add a national DMV bureau as well?
Finally, do we really want to live in a country where the federal government virtually follows you everywhere you go? Growing up in the Cold War, that’s what we were told the Soviet Union was like. It will be the high-tech version of internal travel documents, or at the very least puts that power in the hands of the federal government.
This is the reason we use the gasoline tax for transportation costs. It doesn’t require the government to track the movements of citizens on a moment-to-moment basis, and it doesn’t require any record-keeping for either the drivers or the government bureau. It’s a point-of-sale transaction that proceeds transparently and relieves the taxpayer of a lump-sum burden at the end of the year.
The problem with the federal budget isn’t a lack of resources. It’s a lack of will to use those resources wisely. The government doesn’t need to track the movements of more than 300 million people to squeeze more revenue out of them — it needs to spend less of their money in the first place.
Whatever.
They will have as much success as....the war on drugs...
What good is drug testing when you can legally buy synthetic human urine?
It only catches the lazy and the stupid...
They will create an instant black market of ways to get around anything they can dream up short of going house to house and actually chipping your fat ass...
I will not comply....this will only tax the lazy and the stupid...
My gas guzzler?
You can have it when you pry me from the hot smoking wreckage!
Molon labe!
I don’t think this is likely to ever become law. Having said that I have to admit that I’ve been wrong more than a few times. I have a relatively limited perspective about these things. History shows us that the government has transmogrified almost beyond the Constitution. (Now that I think about it, I’m put in mind of Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” - could that be us nowadays?) And as Mark Twain said, “ ... imagine for a moment that I am an idiot. Then imagine that I’m a member of Congress. Ahh, but I repeat myself ... “. ( or something like that ). So I suppose it is possible that the government might do the most audacious things imaginable. And this tax scheme is pretty audacious.
Last week they were trying to tax air (wireless communications tax) and now they want to tax you when you move
Tell these people to get the f*ck out of our lives
I’ll point to the roll back of the encroachments of anti-concealed carry laws as proof that the libtard hoards can be fought back...
The new civil war is already underway....this is the battle field , knowledge and free exchange of ideals are the weapons...
That’s why the libtards seek to control and over run it...
In the free market of ideals..their sauce is weak...
SO could the government not only tell where we went but how fast and if too fast just send a ticket
And you thought traffic cameras stunk
The reality for some of us is that we don't comply with absurd rules and regs. It's really not that hard once you get the hang of it.
Actually, I sort of like this... One of the greatest evils ever hoisted on the American public was the federally mandated payroll tax withholdings, so that most people have no idea just how much they're paying in taxes. Just ask someone how much they paid in taxes around April 15th, and 9 out of 10 times you'll get the response, "I got back $$$." Well, I guess now a days that may be right, since about 48% pay no federal income tax. Still I wish they had to write a check for FICA and medicare taxes, even though 1/2 of those taxes are hidden (the "employers portion").
Mark
More like just take it from your checking account, if they have any say.
The last paragraph says it all.
they will ask for this tax now...ask for waivers/exemptions for their friend’s later
Imagine the impact this nonsense will have on the tourist industry.... it will gut it.
I live on my mountain out in the country where neighbors are few and far between. I have my own water well... we all have our own well. I recently learned that my county intends to install meters on our wells and charge us for our own water. It’s already against state law to collect rain water in barrels or in any other manner. For crying out loud.. I live in N.W. Washington -—where the rain is fricking made!
This damn government needs to get the hell out of my life.... and they better do it before I decide to get into theirs.
I’ll say it....
If they passed a law tommorrow that said you had to get a tattoo on the right cheek of your ass...some people would comply...and some cop would enforce it...
Probably while shooting your dog.
commerce clause ...everything under the commerce clause.
along with your SSN at birth you’ll get a Federal version of an I_PASS\E_Z Pass etc...device.
You're exactly right. Marxism is on the rise here in our land and history has taught us well that once in power, the killing begins. Notice the terminology being used in Wisconsin alone and over the top rhetoric, almost infantile accusations (but effective given our ignorant useful idiots), not to mention wherever there are similar demonstrations.
Make no mistake, the idea is to liquidate as many of us as possible. I believe the primary goal is around 25 million of "our kind".
That's a drop in the bucket (and very "doable") compared to what "Uncle Joe" Stalin (nickname courtesy FDR, isn't that precious?) accomplished.
Weak sauce ... I like the way you said that.
Liberal ideas don’t stand up to critical examination. And their ultimate argument for their ideas always seems to end up being an ad hominem.
It’s still toxic sauce though.
You havent heard of macho sauce aka Alfonzo Rachel ?
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=machosauce&aq=4
His sauce is strong...
*cheesygrin*
Big talk, I just don’t believe it. It’s easy to talk big on a message board.
You can’t or don’t believe it because you have a compliant citizen mindset. Whatever ...
Uh huh. I don’t believe it because internet warriors rarely back up their big talk in real life.
There is nothing ‘warrior’ like in being a self-sufficient, non-conforming citizen. Believe what makes you comfortable in your compliant world. It affects me not.
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