The University of Iowa is conducting a study to determine different ways of producing revenue, rather than relying on the motor fuels tax everyone who purchases gasoline pays. Starting in December, 200 Austin, TX drivers will take part in the national study.
Cars will be outfitted with an on board computer with GPS capabilities. It will track how far drivers go, and base the fee on their mileage. The computer will also have the driver enter the number of gallons of fuel they add to the vehicle, to use as a comparison for how much fee vs. how much tax the driver would be paying.
The current motor fuels tax is essentially a sales tax. Sales taxes are based on consumption. People who consume more fuel, pay more tax of course. If a mileage based system is used, everyone would be paying the same amount. The guy driving the 10 mpg Hummer would pay the same thing as the guy driving the 50 mpg Prius. This leads to a slippery slope of drivers opting to use more gasoline, which is the opposite direction this country needs to go in. Of course, the flip side will be to make drivers think about driving less, if they are being charged per mile. So it could go either way.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Mileage Fees Rather Than A Fuel Tax?
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3 comments:
I wish that Congress would use the opportunity while gas prices are low, to just go ahead and index the fuels tax to the current prices in a revenue-neutral way.
Then the tax would rise and fall along with normal market fluctuations in the price of gasoline, and would tend to work as a "windfall" tax.
My theory is that the price of gasoline starts to cause some elasticity when it gets up in the levels where it was this summer, so the price will only go up so far, and a greater portion of that price increase will be revenue for road construction.
I believe John Carona wants to index the Texas tax in that manner.
gas mileage tax. Well Well here we go again a goverment that can not live within its means because of all the social programs. I hope those of you who want social programs for everyone who is to lazy to work (or to druged up) get to pay all of it. I must watch my buget and not spend more than i make so with that the goverment should do the same if they don't have the money then they need to cut spending to cover it. Again those of you who do not agree feel free to reach into your own bank accounts and give to the private programs to provide that support.
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