Free Republic

American drivers could soon trade paying taxes on gas at the pump for owing the government annual 'per-mile user fees,' under a new pilot program recently passed by the Senate in Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal. The bill passed a Senate vote on Tuesday and will go on to the House of Representatives. The massive deal puts $125 million toward exploring the possibility of a federal vehicle miles traveled tax (VMT) by funding the launch of federal, state and local VMT pilot programs. It gives Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg the ability to award grants to local and regional...

As gas prices continue to top $2 a gallon, all those drivers of fuel-efficient cars may not have reason to gloat for much longer. Oregon is worried that too many Honda Insights and Toyota Priuses hitting the roads will rob it of cash it expects out of its 24-cent-a-gallon tax. So the Beaver State is studying ways to ensure that "hybrid" car owners pay their "fair share" of taxes for the miles they drive. That means allowing the taxman to catch up to hybrid owners just as often as he catches up to gas guzzling SUV drivers. And if Oregon...