[thackney]

My proposal would be to roll in, over a period of 8 years, a $2 federal surcharge per gallon of gas (hold on, before you panic). That gives people time to adjust the type of vehicles they own. That money would then go to a federal fund to be redistributed to income tax payers on their 1040 returns. For every person of voting age in a household on a tax return, you can claim a proportional credit on your return. Hypothetically, if the average driver goes 12,000 miles per year in a 25 mpg car, that would be $960 in surcharges. If you have 250 million drivers, that's $120 billion nationwide in surcharges, and every driver would be eligible to claim a $960 tax CREDIT on their return.

Existing taxes per gallon already charge more to those who use more gasoline. Why make it complicated?

[eraser2005]

Not trying to make it complicated - but to provide a constant incentive to conserve. When gas costs $1 a gallon, there's little incentive to conserve, so people by heavy gas guzzling SUVs rather than fuel efficient station wagons. That makes the potential for supply crunches higher, as the market demands more. Europe has high taxes on gas that encourage conservation (they use a small fraction of the oil per capita that the US does) - but overtaxing is wrong. I'm trying to propose a way that provides a constant, significant incentive to conserve that doesn't cost the average american a thing. Only those who choose to pay more do, and those who choose to conserve get rewarded.