Posted on 11/22/2004 4:26:38 PM PST by absalom01
POSTED: 10:16 am PST November 16, 2004
UPDATED: 6:19 pm PST November 16, 2004
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Tired of high gas prices? Right now, drivers are paying a tax of 18 cents for every gallon of gas bought. The new chief of the state Department of Motor Vehicles has an idea that would wipe out the gas tax, but at what cost?
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's newly appointed director of the DMV, Joan Borucki, wants to charge people for every mile they drive.Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that the idea has yet to receive in-depth consideration, but talk of a "mileage tax" is causing a political commotion.Honda dealer Katina Rapton says that the idea of an "mileage tax" is crazy, and that California already requires the manufacture and sale of clean-burning, fuel-efficient cars, which cost consumers more to drive off the lot."To me it doesn't make much sense," Rapton said. "And then turn around and penalize them on the backside for using their cars and getting better gas mileage? It doesn't make much sense."The mileage could be tracked with a device placed in the car. It's an idea that Borucki included in the governor's recently completed California Performance Review. The idea is echoed by transportation planners.
"The problem is that even people who would be willing to pay an increased gas tax aren't convinced that any increase would actually go to building and maintaining roads. Instead, they rightly fear that much of it would be used to build bike lanes and light rail boondoggles"
Sheesh, you still aren't thinking like a bureaucrat! All tax revenues, whether "earmarked" or not go into the general fund either directly or indirectly. This is true for all gov't everywhere. There are no exceptions.
money is then doled out to whatever constituencies the gov't deems worthy.
It's about the green alright.....the cash green.
Correction, a manual on how to repair you speedometer
Just unscrew the cable from the back. I have a 1993 truck for sale, it only has 18 miles on it. Going for a real good price! 8-)
HAHA....now your thinking!
LOL, The new stuff isn't that easy.
That, and this proposal is even more insidious -- the system does not rely on odometers (partly for the reason that fritzz identifies), but on a GPS device in the car. The tax authority can track WHERE and WHEN you are driving. Of course, this information wouldn't be kept on file, and would only be aggregated for tax purposes blah blah blah.
There is an upside -- you wouldn't have to buy a Lojack -- the cops could just use the gps on board you car. If your teenage kid is missing at 4:00 AM, maybe you could track the car and make sure she's safe (before you ground her for life).
Of course, there's the potential for abuse.
The same holds true for public thoroughfares such as highways and streets. There is definitely a "cost" associated with using these facilities, and a substantial amount of the cost is often paid through fuel taxes. The problem, though, is that the user does not pay an incremental cost that accurately reflects his use of the system; he has no clear financial incentive to vary his travel times and/or routes in response to variations in demand. In that sense, the motorist is similar to a customer in a restaurant with an all-you-can-eat menu. The restaurant will always make sure its prices are high enough to cover their costs, but once a customer has paid for his meal he has no incentive to stop eating because there is no incremental cost associated with each additional trip to the serving line. The natural end result is a customer base of obese people.
In an ideal situation, vehicle traffic would operate in a manner similar to electric and gas utilities, in which motorists pay more to travel during peak periods and/or on fast routes. The roadway system doesn't even have to be operated by a government entity; a number of states have experimented with privately-owned toll roads (parallel to "free" roads) that provide superior travel conditions to motorists who are willing to pay a price for it.
don't know 'bout your state, but in Ca. one used to be able to file for a refund for "non-highway" fuel tax - just save appropriate receipts
It didn't work.
They also lost a ton of money in non-collected truck taxes since the old method was abandoned.
What's there to think about? The minute this idea came up, Schwarzenegger's response should have been simple:
Heh...My old truck has on of them 'puters in it. It's a 286 with 2 meg of ram, but it's got one! 8-P
But if these public goods are going to be sold as a product like any other, shouldn't they cease to be publicly owned?
The gas tax is a milage tax....the idiot!!
PLEASE don't suggest that, they may see your post. In CA gas taxes are over $.50 a gallon already, with 10% of the nations vehicles I think they're already collecting plenty of taxes, they just haven't used it for that which was intended.
And rightly so. Democrats tend to be interested only in transit projects which go to the blue cities and keep their constituents happy.
But the truth is that we have thousands of bridges in this country that were built over 60 years ago, and they're worn out. We can all debate where funding their repair or restoration should come from, but it does have to be done or the consequences will be grim.
I don't think the per mile idea is a good one because it will have unintended consequences. But funding these projects is one of the few things the government SHOULD do.
When you describe a "public good," are you referring to a roadway system?
This is just another excuse to prove the "need" for the black boxes to track you movement. If they just wanted more money, they could bump two cents per gallon and pay .20 like Texans.
Do they not already have a gas tax implemented? I don't know, but I'd find it hard to believe if they didn't.
If they do, then they already have imposed a tax on 'miles driven.'
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.