California Mileage Tax Would Charge Drivers Based on Distance Driven

http://www.nbclosangeles.com ^ | may 6, 2014 | Jodi Hernandez and Chris Roberts

[lowbridge]

Sick of the gas tax?

What about a tax on every mile you drive?

A new bill going through Sacramento would tax drivers for every mile they are on the road.

The state gasoline tax of 52.9 cents per gallon could be replaced with a "miles driven fee" of $0.05 cents or so per mile driven, under state legislation proposed by a Bay Area lawmaker.

State transit officials note that there's not nearly enough money available to fix the many bridges and roads in California that are in desperate need of repair.

A federal highway fund, based on taxes on fuel, is expected to run dry this summer.

“We've got to figure out how to pay for infrastructure,” state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) said. “One philosophy is, if you use it, you should pay for it.”

Under SB 1077, introduced by DeSaulnier, a still-to-be-determined California city would begin taxing motorists in January 2016. The longer your commute, the more you would pay.

That may yet be a tough sell, but a $0.05 per mile fee could raise over $100 billion for roads in some parts of the state, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported.

[When do we get liberated?]

The law of unintended circumstances says that if this happens TMU (True Mileage Unknown) cars will be worth more than clean odometer cars lol

[When do we get liberated?]

Is that the same logic that leads to having toll booths on roads that were built 50 years ago? lol

[When do we get liberated?]

Yeah, put that meter in my 970 Opel GT. And I am just crazy enough to have a spare points distributor sitting around so I can drive after a nuke or EMP...or after a Democrat tax scheme.

[jsanders2001]

Why not just charge them for every breathey take too? The tecnology is there.../s

[boatbums]

They could do like they do here in North Carolina where you get taxed on your car EVERY YEAR based on its estimated value as long as you have it (or many). IN ADDITION to gas taxes, vehicle registration fees, inspection fees, state income tax, sales tax, property tax, etc. We would also have to pay a tax when we sell our house no matter how much equity we walk away with (based on actual sale price).

[Veggie Todd]

People are gonna start turning their odometers back ...

How exactly do you do that with today's vehicles...I mean, just as a hypothetical....

[When do we get liberated?]

That is actually preferable from an efficiency point of view

[jsanders2001]

> I have a better idea. why doesn’t the government just take all your money and then just give back what they don’t use.
it will save on paperwork.

There’s never any left over. In fact they will always want more to loot and line their own pockets...

[Veggie Todd]

How are ANY of these legislatures, in ANY state, and the Senate, and the House, REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE?

DING DING DING We have a winner. Please stop calling. We have a winner!!!!

[tiki]

I don’t know but you can bet someone will and they’ll sell the knowledge.

It’s just like the things they put in cars for DUIs, it doesn’t matter what new technology they come up with someone by-passes it.

[867V309]

Bring back muscle cars!

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

At 5 cents a mile in comparison to the current 52.9 cents per gallon tax, the State will make more money on each vehicle that gets better than 10.5 mpg.

Let’s see. Encourage people to get cars that are hyper efficient when it comes to mileage per gallon of gas, then change the rules to tax those who followed your encouragement much higher than before.

[teacherwoes]

Gee, if they boost minimum wage to $15/hr. then drivers could afford to pay $1/mile. After all, they need to pay their “fair share” because it’s for the children or whales or whatever. /s

[Kozak]

LOL. So what’s new? Cut water usage and watch the rate go up to increase$$$$.
Property value go down? Guess what the acessed rate does?
There’s NEVER enough OPM for the Takers....

[moehoward]

"Encourage people to get cars that are hyper efficient when it comes to mileage per gallon of gas, then change the rules to tax those who followed your encouragement much higher than before."

Oh they started that loooong ago. In the late 80's California had a drought. There was a big campaign to encourage the usual conservation which was much more successful than anticipated. So successful that water rates had to be increased.

[98ZJ USMC]

So the liberals have finally figured out how to move all the peons out of the country side and into the Utopia of liberal controlled cities.

All part of the plan. At least someone recognized it for what it is. Good for you.

...and the gas tax is not going away. Bet on it. The article is BS.

[ResisTyr]

Bravo. Good one ;)

[JennysCool]

Thank you for the support! I think this whole thing is so BASIC that people have forgotten it. In America, our legislatures at ALL levels are supposed to be PROTECTING us against predatory practices, not instigating predatory practices of their own. They have actually become what they were created to guard against. And I think that is so unbelievable that people just don't see it.

[Democrat_media]

people trust government to solve some perceived problem . but people don't realize that government is worse than any problem real or imaginary. And almost all of those problems are imaginary anyway

[MarkL]

I might be OK for an increase in the gasoline tax, under one condition. You see, the highway funds, where the gasoline tax revenue goes, are regularly raided by government.

The only way I’d go along with an increase in the tax would be that part of the legislation would require and use of the revenue in the highway funds to go through an open appropriation, by appointed “officers,” to be used ONLY for highway and bridge work. And if any of the funds go missing, or is misappropriated? Then the people in charge of the the fund would find themselves facing criminal charges.

After all, that’s one of the “features” of Sarbanes/Oxley, where the CEO and other officers are CRIMINALLY liable for the misappropriation of funds (unless you’re John Corzine). If it’s good enough for business, it should be good enough for the government.

But that would be the ONLY way I’d go along with an increase in taxes.

Mark