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Posted on 12/31/2002 1:17:30 AM PST by abcraghead
Big Brother eyes taxes by the mile
State considers space-based technology to collect revenue
The latest proposal by government to collect tax revenue may seem out of this world – that's because it is.
The state of Oregon is considering the use of satellite technology to charge taxes based on how much mileage you drive your car.
The Road User Fee Task Force set up by lawmakers last year plans to ask the 2003 session to authorize testing of a vehicle-mileage tax, reports the Associated Press.
Oregon was the first state back in 1919 to adopt a gas tax, and today officials expect revenues to flatten as gas mileage improves and more hybrid cars come on line.
Jim Whitty, the task force administrator, says his group is looking at a per-mile charge of up to 1.25 cents to generate funds comparable to the current gas tax.
"We also have to have a way to track mileage only within the state," Whitty told the AP. This rules out basing the fee on odometer readings, which would include out-of-state driving.
"Technology has improved to the degree that this can be done, with an electronic device," he said.
The device in each car would be linked to a Global Positioning Satellite system, or GPS, which allows pinpoint navigation by bouncing signals off satellites.
The task force hopes to organize a test of this system if lawmakers approve, checking to see if the system even works, then conducting a yearlong evaluation.
There are several options for actually collecting fees. One is to send vehicle owners a monthly bill, another is to outfit gas stations so they can read vehicle transponders and collect the tax at fueling stops.
If you think the new method would do away with the tax on fuel, think again. In assessing the new levy, drivers would get credit for gas tax already paid.
To protect drivers' privacy, using the system to track cars in real time would be illegal. New cars would be required to have the GPS technology. Owners of older cars would be allowed to take part by retrofitting them.
A final decision on the proposal is not expected to come until the 2005 legislative session at the earliest.
They are on the cutting edge all right...the cutting edge of socialism. I daresay that Oregon is the 'Vanguard of the Revolution.'
Modify it? How about this: remove it from the vehicle and attach it to a 12 volt power supply. "Honest, officer, I never left the driveway."
Oregon's single payer manifesto...er...plebescite...er...ballot initiative will be back.
And from the U.S. Navy comes this little ditty... "Precise Positioning Service is for the DOD only. Only Standard Positioning Service (SPS) is available to the public. With SPS, 100 meter accuracy is observed 95% of the time. The following plot shows SPS information gathered at USNA over a 6 hour period. Notice the brief 4 minute excursion over 1/2 mile at 14 knots for our fixed building!" You bet the state will want you to pay for the GPS drift, too. LINK
"Allowed to take part?"
Talk about Big Brother- Speak!
Just like they "allow" us to pay taxes, register our legal guns, and file our income tax returns?
I didn't think it was possible.
half of california voters are dumb as rocks!
Can Freepers identify the individual (or group of individuals) who came up with this "idea"?
We need to know.
They tried to put this into law in CA but the public outcry made them semi-retract it, no-doubt to be sneaked-in at midnight when nobody is looking. 2 cents per mile.
Fran Pavley, if I recall the name of the perp, was placed in Scientific American's "Top 100 Leaders in Science" for introducing the bill.
The CA bill did not--to my (imperfect) knowledge--contain the use of GPS receivers. I suppose the next version will, and tampering with the GPS unit will disable the vehicle and also be made a crime.
--Boris
First off nobody owns the automobiles they think they own, unless they have the MSO (Which just about nobody has). Everyone has a "CERTIFICATE OF TITLE".
"...allowed" How nice, today you'll be allowed to volunteer, tomorrow you'll be forced to volunteer..
How about a nice little jumper wire hooked to a toggle switch, where one can turn the thing off, cruise all over the place and when ya get within 5 miles or so from the refueling station, turn it back on. Damn one will be able to rack up a lot of credit. Plus one would be able to control the amount of surveillance.
All kidding aside, this is nothing more then;
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