Posted on 05/07/2014 4:30:57 PM PDT by OneVike
The California Legislature is looking at a voluntary program that would tax motorists for every mile they drive.
KCAL9’s Bobby Kaple reports that Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, introduced a bill to test out the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax because the state’s gas tax was no longer bringing in the revenue it used to due to people driving more fuel efficient vehicles.
The program is modeled after ones in Oregon and Washington.
“We want to do as Washington and Oregon have done in a much bigger state with much longer commutes…to make sure that we find out whether it would work, whether the public would like it or not,” DeSaulnier said.
It’s unknown how much the tax would be, but Oregon currently charges its volunteers 1.5 cents per mile.
“All of those things would be determined. We would let the agency determine that because this would be a voluntary program,” DeSaulnier said.
Southland commuters were not thrilled about the idea of a VMT tax.
(Excerpt) Read more at losangeles.cbslocal.com ...
F the liberals, the socialists, and the progressives that are gullibe and naieve enough to believe that their government is good and has their beat interests at heart. The government is like a gigantic fat spoiled child that is never satisfied with what it has and always wants more and you have to be the one to bow and sacrifice for them when they have absolutely no respect for you. They just want what they want because you have it and they want it. The Mafia is more honorable by far...
The roads in southeastern Wisconsin are worse than in Puerto Rico. The long cold winter has turned our highways into those of a third world country.
They can kiss the front of my ass if they think I’ll agree to a VMT.
Let’s get this right
the gubernut encourages people to drive more fuel efficient cars, and they do
so they can drive as many miles as before but buy fewer gallons of gas,
so, as the public DOES become more thrifty with fuel, as the gubernut wanted people to do,
the gubernut gets less money from taxes on the fuels cars and trucks consume,
so, the public having done a good thing, the gubernut wants to reward everyone for a job well done with more taxes;
that’s why its called the gubernut
We’ve warned what will eventually happen to all of these “sin taxes”, like cigarette taxes, alcohol tax, soda tax, etc. When people curtail their use, the govt has to find some other tax to make up for the lost revenue. Everybody ends up paying it.
how can it be voluntary? If you agree, you still pay gas taxes every time you get gas. They really expect people to volunteer to pay this tax?
I wouldn’t be surprised to see it passed as a mandatory tax. But can’t see this work out as a voluntary payment.
I’m sure there will be a waiting list for people wanting to get onto this program. After all, it’s for the children or whales or whatever/s.
Another ‘grazing cattle fee’ regulation where government gets money for doing nothing and to control you to boot. Yippee!
Not as all. If I don't drive, why should I pay a road tax? I pay for food, and the cost of food reflects all costs. I will pay that. But if I don't drive, why should I pay a road tax? You sound like a communist. Everyone shares the cost of everything.
Even Republican supermajority Indiana has advocates of this evil plan:
” If I don’t drive, why should I pay road taxes?”
So the government can spend it on the bus system which uses the roads and doesn’t pay road taxes.
After all, somebody has to pay LOL!
The bus system is a communist idea. Everyone pays for the transportation of a few.
Nobody joins and they make it mandatory, isn’t that the usual MO?
What idiot would volunteer to pay a new tax?
It’s a feudal idea: gives the serfs something to use to serve their lords at the lowest cost to their lords and also increases their dependency on their lords.
Communism being scientific feudalism it is, indeed, a communist and socialist “three-fer”.
They will do it at inspection time. They will calculate your mileage for the year, divide by 12, look at a table and they will add it to your registration fee. Pretty simple really.
To start the program off, they will take mileage since purchase, prorate it to your inspection date and bill you for it. If you don’t pay, they will take it from your taxes.
Oops, everyone’s odometer broke
Communism has a compelling attraction for those who cannot produce
“Voluntary”. Yeah right, just like the “voluntary” income tax.
If they didn’t spend most of the gas tax on public transit boondoggles they would have enough to fix the roads. The whole theory of which is supposed to benefit drivers by getting more cars off the roads. Which means less gas tax revenue, so taxes have to be raised on remaining drivers, which means people drive less and buy more fuel efficient cars, which means even less money...
It might save me a lot of money.
I drive 5K miles a year at most.
The volunteer plans I have heard about include some sort of rebate/refund of your gasoline taxes.
I also love the idea of a Leaf driver paying the same or more in road taxes than a Mustang GT driver.
After all, these hybrids and electrics are just as heavy, if not heavier.
I wouldn’t dismiss the mileage tax idea without a lot of thought.
Sounds like something that someone who has been hittin' dat potent Colorado High happy smoke would say.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.