Tracking Miles As Gas Tax Alternative Raises Fairness, Privacy Concerns Los Angeles

LATimes ^ | December 06, 2013 | DAN WEIKEL

[Steelfish]

Tracking Miles As Gas Tax Alternative Raises Fairness, Privacy Concerns Los Angeles California officials are testing the idea of a mileage fee to replace the state tax of 36 cents per gallon of gas. By DAN WEIKEL Among those who would be hardest hit by a mileage fee are owners of hybrids and electric cars Standing at a Chevron station in Long Beach, Teresa Gutierrez wished she was pumping fuel into a gas-sipping hybrid instead of her hulking GMC Yukon.

She was nevertheless cool to the idea that the state might start raising money for highway repairs by replacing the traditional gasoline tax with a fee based on how far people drive. Penalizing owners of hybrids and electric cars doesn't feel right, Gutierrez said. "It defeats their green purpose."

Jesus Velez also objected as he filled the 28-gallon tank of his Lincoln Navigator. Then he realized that owners of higher-mileage cars buy far less fuel, and therefore pay far less in gas taxes. A per-mile fee "would make it fairer for everyone," he concluded.

[DoughtyOne]

Bend over citizens!

[gaijin]

They should welcome it warmly, with the one condition that the NSA and Prez APOLIGIZE to the country for the recent 4th Amendment violations.

That will kill it all in an instant, and make GayMuzzie and his Flying MOnkeys the guilty party.

[grania]

A mileage tax isn’t fair. Lighter fuel efficient vehicles do less damage to the roads than oversized gas guzzlers do.

[Repeal The 17th]

RE:”...taxing highway use by the mile instead of by the gallon...”
-
I’m not sure how this would work...
Do I report my mileage annually when I renew my car tag
and get hit with a huge all-at-once bill?
What if I drive out of state, do I have to document and deduct that?
What if someone from out of state drives in my state,
how does my state collect tax from them?

[Iron Munro]

Just implant GPS trackers in everyone and tax us each time we walk to the bathroom, drive to work or wander around the supermarket aisles.

[Jonty30]

A lot lower income people have to travel farther to work, because they often cannot afford to live in the same area where they work.

[DakotaGator]

Here we go again. “Fair” is a concept only applicable to organized sporting events.

Anytime any government entity talks about “fairness” it means more taxes and less freedom!

[Jonty30]

“Do I report my mileage annually when I renew my car tag”

Basically. The place you register your car at would keep records of your mileage.

[EagleUSA]

More DemocRat robbery — Taxifornia can afford to pay TENS OF BILLIONS each year to support ILLEGALS to buy votes -— but must steal more money to repair roads.

And the IDIOTS in Taxifornia just keep voting these criminals back into office. How is Governor Jaunito Marquez BROWN these days??

[reg45]

There needs to be a factor for the weight of the vehicle.

[ErnBatavia]

A lot lower income people have to travel farther to work, because they often cannot afford to live in the same area where they work.

And on the flipside, a lot of salaried people choose to live in the 'burbs, and drive into the industrial sucky areas where they earn their living.

[driftdiver]

Ok I was wondering just what kinda money were talking about. I did a table on a conservative 300 miles per week at $3.75/gal for a vehicle which gets 12 mpg vs 50 mpg for a hybrid.

Miles/week	mpg	gal	$3.75/g	Fed Tax	Total tax	Annual Tax
300	12	25	$93.75	$4.60	$17.83	$926.90
300	50	6	$22.50	$1.10	$4.28	$222.46
Federal Tax	$.184/g
California Tax	$.529/g
Total Tax	$.713/g

[tbw2]

This kind of tax also penalizes everyone who commutes a long way for work, becoming an incentive to force them into dense housing in the city.

[Jonty30]

Yeah, that’s equivalent.

A lower-income person who has to live in a sucky area, just so he can live and a salaried person, who can afford a home in the burbs, but chooses to drive.

One has options the other doesn’t have.

[driftdiver]

So we should penalize those who worked hard to get a better job?

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

Subsidize fuel efficient vehicles and then cry a river that they ain’t getting enough tax money. Here is a thought, cut back on the subsidies.

[bkopto]

You are right. Damage to the road goes up by vehicle weight to the fourth power (!!!!!!!). Texas reg fees are according to vehicle weight (but I don’t think to the fourth power, though).

The 18 wheelers and other heavy vehicles cause the pavement to flex and bend, causing internal cracking.

If 18 wheelers were taxed to the vehicle weight to the 4th power, our groceries and other trucked-in goods would be much higher in price.

[driftdiver]

Just put a card swiper in the cars. Before we can drive we have to pay our good citizen tax.

[Jonty30]

I never said that. I was responding to your point that it is somehow equivalent for a person, who is in a better position to adjust their situation should their costs increase, than a person who is not in a position to do that.

For the lower income person, they just simply try and figure out what else they can do without, like food, to adjust to new realities.