Posted on 07/03/2023 4:11:50 AM PDT by MtnClimber
"As fuel taxes plummet, states weigh charging by the mile instead of the tank.” That was the headline of a recent AP story, which should scare freedom-loving citizens everywhere. And you can place the blame squarely on government-subsidized EVs for this terrible new development.
The background is that state and federal gasoline taxes aren’t raising “enough” money these days to pay for roadway construction and maintenance. And a big reason for the growing shortfall is the increase in electric vehicles.
EVs get massive tax subsidies to convince people to buy them, but their owners don’t pay gasoline taxes, for the obvious reason that they never have to fill up. The more EVs on the road, the less revenue the gas taxes raise.
So the policy geniuses in Washington have a solution: Impose a per-mile tax.
Some states are already experimenting with “vehicle miles traveled” taxes, and the $1 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure bill includes $125 million for state and local pilot programs to test a national VMT fee.
A VMT sounds reasonable, right? After all, every driver imposes costs on roadways. And a mileage tax would capture all drivers, no matter what fuels their cars.
But look more closely, and the VMT tax is perhaps one of the most insidious tax ideas ever devised.
To start, a VMT tax would be incredibly complicated and costly to impose.
The gas tax is simple. A relatively small number of large fuel suppliers pay the tax, the costs of which are then passed on to retailers. But by definition, a VMT means collecting money directly from hundreds of millions of owners of hundreds of million cars. How?
Another idea would be to cut the size and expense of inefficient government.
In Nevada the DOT has been pushing this along gently for 10 years. I suspect that they have the ground work laid and the legislation all ready written.
Global warming/climate change policy has always been about killing the middle class.
Everywhere on the planet.
“a VMT means collecting money directly from hundreds of millions of owners of hundreds of million cars. How?”
37,000 new IRS hires.
Why not put a state excise tax meter on the EV charger (if that is not already in place...)?
The American Transportation Research Institute found that replacing the fuel tax with a VMT tax that uses GPS devices “could result in collection costs of more than $20 billion annually – about 300 times higher than the federal fuel tax.”Worse, a GPS system would open a Pandora’s box of new government intrusions.
It could, the GAO noted, lead to “variable pricing programs” that “charge drivers different rates based on the type of road or the location of travel.” But it could also vary the tax based on the kind of car you drive, how you drive, what time of day you drive, or any other behavior the government wants to discourage.
It would, in short, let government bureaucrats “politicize the way we drive by playing favorites,” notes Heritage Foundation researcher David Ditch.
Little faggotmobiles.
So a per-mile tax, depending on how it's implemented, will give them information not only on how far you go, but also where and when you go, and how fast you go to get there. It will flag you if you go to the range, a gun store, a bar, a Trump rally, or a church or temple. It will know who you visit and whether that person is a "domestic terrorist".
The possibilities are endless, and the scheme is a democrat tyrant's wet dream.
EVs are short-range vehicles and there will never be enough power generation available to allow the freedom of movement we have now. Today, you can fuel up and drive the family all across the country at will. The all-powerful government doesn't want that and aims to keep us in our communities (and preferably, unarmed).
There are no Constitutional protections for travel or transportation, so they see their opening to keep us sealed in our ghettos.
Not to mention that the one thousand pounds of battery in EVs makes them heavier than the average ICE vehicle.
Therefore, doing more damage on average/mile driven than an ICE vehicle.
Sure, there's probably a dozen different ways to solve the tax problem. But it isn't about tax, it's about control of the free market and freedom of the people..
We're going to end up like rats in some kind sick laboratory if we continue to allow these.....overlords to run things.
So simple but I never thought about it. Thank you for posting.
What a disaster. Mandatory odometer readings? Odometer readings automatically broadcast with vehicle identification.
The current bureaucrats are evil overlords with no understanding or respect for the Constitution and the covenants that have made America great.
Heretical talk there, govt never shrinks, pions pay
If I was being gracious I would say law of unintended consequences, but that is not it. These folks know the folly of EV and green energy….
This is a bit like AB going “what happened “ , then doubling and tripling down on a disastrous idea
The idea that EVs were good for the environment ( what charges your car for one)takes a half a second of research to see that is an utter lie, the idea that EVs make economical sense to owners takes a full second of research to prove that is a lie as well. In ohio there is I think a 300$ tax on EVs then there is the time bomb of battery replacement cost which will wipe out many times over any savings you may have thought you were getting
Check out the environmental disaster that is lithium mining, see the children in Africa who work to support your “ high ideals “
As said in South Park “thanks” sniff sniff
We are in the matrix
“”why not just charge extra (get it?) at the public and commercial charging stations?””
Sounds good! Additionally charge them big time when they register the EV with DMV and leave the rest of us alone. The fees can go up every year and payable when they renew their tags...
Journalistic hating of electric vehicles is a hate crime
I concur. Seems obvious, which tells us everything we need to know about the true motive.
The government won’t care if costs 50x to collect the tax if it accomplishes the goal of making ICEs and free movement gradually unaffordable to most people.
Good idea! A solution that actually responds to the specific problem (though I do bristle at the notion that less revenue to government is a problem...).
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