Transportation chief eyes taxing miles driven

[IDemo]

Source: Associated Press

updated 1 hour, 13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn — an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed.

Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving, LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled," the former Illinois Republican lawmaker said.

Most transportation experts see a vehicle miles traveled tax as a long-term solution, but Congress is being urged to move in that direction now by funding pilot projects.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29298315/

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. Its another regional unfairness issue...not to metion regressve taxation

You drive more miles in the SW than you do in the NE. It would be a very regressive tax.

[damntexdem]

23. And it would undermine efforts to promote fuel efficiency.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. MA is considering it.

It's not sitting well.

Pay at the pump and be done with it. I don't like being monitored.

[Xipe Totec]

5. Agreed. Besides, one SUV mile is not the same as one subcompact mile

[TheCowsCameHome]

25. Very true. The whole idea is rife with faults.

[IDFbunny]

35. Tax gas, engine displacement, weight, class

but the miles driven is my business.

[lurky]

3. Sorry, I don't like it.

This will eliminate one of our major incentives to burn less fossil fuel. It will punish Prius drivers and reward Hummer people. Hmm, I wonder who is lobbying for this?

[sledgehammer]

18. Agreed 100% n/t

[damntexdem]

24. Never trust a GOPer, even one in the Obama Administration.

ESPECIALLY one invited into the Obama Administration?

[pleah]

29. Exactly!

:)

[Thor_MN]

40. The people that stand to profit from collecting the mileage info

Thw only way this is going to work is with some little doodad that you would have to attach to your car. Whoever makes those is going to be the biggest proponent of the taxing miles. If it was based on odometer readings, how are they going to enforce it? I drive my vehicles until death do us part and I fear that my odometer will have suffered a tragic accident on the way to the junkyard..

[CanonRay]

4. This will drive Colorado right back to the Rethugs

It's a really, really, bad idea.

[ejpoeta]

11. lahood is a republican!! obama better put the kaibosh on that.

it would not help the administrations desire to move towards alternative energy. we want people to want to get hybrids and vehicles that use alternative energy sources. this is so ridiculous!!! and we have no ability here to use public transportation or anything!!

[madmom]

6. Won't set well with those of us who have absolutely no public transportation.

[pasto76]

7. The only reason I drive so much is to go to work!!

When Im not working, now for 2 months, I barely drive anywhere. I walk alot. But ironworkers in Colorado have to travel all over the state to get to jobs as they present themselves. I just spent a 62 weeks commuting to Lamar from Colo springs, and then to Avon from Colo springs. So Im taxed for going to work? How about they tax vehicles that get less then 25mpg EPA rating? I traded in my big comfy adventure ready Jeep for a small Suzuki.

[loudsue]

14. That's my situation, too. When I have a project, I have to drive cross-country to work.

My work could be half-way across the U.S. or half way around the world, or a little of both. I have to drive in order to make a living, and this would penalize the hell out of those of us who haul our offices in our vehicles.

What an outrage. Why don't they try taxing the wallstreet execs instead of us poor working stiffs?

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. Why not credits to people (like me) who don't drive?

Crimeny, I don't even own a car.

[Belial]

10. I see your point.. but that would have an even worse effect

on the situation..

[SheilaT]

9. Really stupid.

Go ahead and raise the tax paid at the pump, and at least some people will be motivated to buy a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

Number of miles driven is so dependent on things beyond the driver's control. In some parts of the country there's no affordable housing available near the work place. Or schools for the kids may be better in a distant suburb. Or the workplace itself relocates. Or the employee gets a job with a different company farther away. And lots of non job related reasons to drive are out there: I used to make cross-country trips with my kids when they were younger. Some years I'd put a whole lot more miles on my car than others.

[acmavm]

12. Someone quick! Get the crowbar! Pry this guy's head out of his ass.

[AzDar]

13. And now, a word from the Ministry Of Very Bad Ideas...

:crazy:

[Blaze Diem]

15. & Blackwater will be the new Mileage Police. They will privatize this too.

Its stupid & completely lopsided in across the board fairness.

[Epiphany4z]

16. who would want to

be the driver when you car pool.....it really seems very impractical ....not to mention just a bad idea

[Still Sensible]

17. Thinking out of the box is great, this is stupid

Without considering what it would take (money, resources) to set up a system to collect and enforce, this is simply a bad idea. The gas tax is self regulating because people are basically being taxed on the amount of resource they use. Why should a person driving a 19 mpg SUV be taxed at the same rate as the person driving a 45 mpg Prius--it makes no sense. If they need to raise the Federal gasoline tax, so be it. But I think LaHood needs to think out of a different box!

[Theobald]

19. This is F'in Stupid

Why go through all the trouble of creating an entirely new regressive system that will cost millions of dollars to implement and monitor, when we have a perfectly good system already in place that cost very little to monitor. If you need more money to keep the roads in shape than raise the gas tax. It costs practically nothing to implement and will bring in money without punishing people who dirve fuel effecient vehicles.

[jordi_fanclub]

20. "Translation" between the lines, I mean, the idea...

Some "Bush-genious" want to TRACK the people with a GPS device.

They already attempted the "tactic" in some european countries.

[NM Independent]

21. No Recs? I don't get it.

Aren't Recs supposed to be for stories you believe others should hear about and discuss?

I mean, I don't approve of this utter Orwellian BS, but I'm giving it a Rec so others can disapprove as well.

This seriously is total BS. I don't believe for a second that this won't be used - at some point in the future - to spy on us.

[kentauros]

27. Just put in the 5th rec

as I agree with you about that part.

I know an easy and inexpensive way to implement this, but I'm not gonna say how to do that. I'm afraid those in favor of it are aware of this site and monitor us already. I won't even tell you in a PM :P

Didn't the tax rebate for hybrids recently expire? Wouldn't it make more sense to not only extend that but also increase the amount as an incentive to get more people buying them?

Personally, I truly want to see a major push on telecommuting. A majority of the office jobs out there could be telecommuted, including my little cubefarm job. Why can't I work from home? I'd like to drive less, and I only have a 34-mile round trip each day. But that's also 34 miles of idiots and unsecured loads all around me...

[groundloop]

22. REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD IDEA

First, it takes away part of the incentive to drive more fuel efficient vehicles.

Second, there aren't all that many electric vehicles on the road that use no gasoline, so it's not like there's a high percentage of vehicles using public roads while not paying a fuel tax.

Third, I in no way trust the government to monitor my movements.

Fourth, it would require a huge bureaucracy to administer this mess.

If, on down the road when we have a larger percentage of electric vehicles, the gasoline tax isn't producing enough revenue the govt could add a small tax on electricity usage. Maybe not the ideal solution, but it would encourage conservation and be a hell of a lot more palatable than the govt tracking my every movement.

Is anybody in the govt taking comments on this proposal yet? If nothing else the White House and LaHood need to get a barrage of emails explaining why this is a bad idea.

Edited: I just submitted a comment at whitehouse.gov. Don't know if it will do any good, but it sure felt good to be able to so easily take part in our government.

[sandyj999]

26. So is this how it works?

Anyone that lives in a large city with a decent transportation system has it made. Basically gets a free ride. But the others, many having a long commute get stuck footing the bill no matter their financial situation. Sounds fair to me.:grr:

[wickerwoman]

38. Exactly. Crappy public transportation is not the fault of the general public.

There are many cities in America where workers cannot take the bus/train/subway to work and can't find housing close enough to walk.

Build a genuinely effective public transportation infrastructure and then you can start considering regressive penalty taxes for people who don't use it.

[FiveGoodMen]

28. What possible good can come of this?

How can an argument even be made to justify it?

Something's very wrong here!

[Qutzupalotl]

30. I guess LaHood drives an SUV, huh?

"It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration," Gibbs told reporters, when asked for the president's thoughts about the policy and LaHood's remarks.

[Zorra]

31. Stop the fucking occupation of Iraq immediately and use the money

saved to rebuild our infrastructure and create jobs rebuilding our infrastructure, instead of destroying the infrastructure and then paying to rebuild it.

But I guess that makes too much logical sense.

[BrightKnight]

32. That is a very bad idea. - n/t

[SpartanDem]

33. The idea has some merits

,but a mileage tax should be combined with a gas tax. Simply because you drive a less fuel efficient car doesn't mean you put more wear and tear on the road. I think it would be further disincentive of America's sprawl culture. As for people who use their car for business purposes they can already write off those expenses.

As for collecting the tax it shouldn't more intrusive than getting a emissions test. If utilities can let you pay bills at the local bank or wherever, I'm sure your state can set up system where those authorized do testing can collect the tax. No big brother spy box tracking your every move.

[kentauros]

34. Okay, that's basically my thought on collecting the mileage

;)

Every car has to get a safety inspection and they record the odometer readings each time. Unless you have a broken odometer (as I did on an old Jetta) your mileage will get recorded and you'd be taxed accordingly. That would be incentive to get your odometer fixed, too, if it's still registering miles as mine was, only by turning the 100,000 mile mark like the tenth-mile wheel. Talk about a tax burden! :P

What about re-instating the guzzler tax? Or was it ever in use...

[Thor_MN]

41. Less effcient generally means bigger generally means more wear on the roads

Wear on the roads is mostly a function of weight/area where the tires meets the road. A vehicle that has higher lbs/square inch will flex the road more which adds up to wear. An overloaded truck will break up a road more than motor scooter.

Not all states have/need to do emmissions tests. Here in Minnesoat, we had them for several years but do not currently have annual emmisions or saftey exams. So it would be more intrusive and expensive.

I have not yet heard a single reason to do this other than raising more money for road repair. That could be done much easier, with no cost to the nation, by simply raising the existing gas taxes. The only cost would be to the gas stations, who would have to modify their calculations slightly and write a bigger check to pay their taxes. They might have to print a new sticker to put on the pumps to specify the tax rate, but that's a heck of a lot cheaper than setting up an entirely new infrastructure to record annual miles driven.

[xenussister]

36. Is this a Republican trying to undermine President Obama??

The story has now been debunked by the White House. WHY would LaHood say it in the first place?! He knew it would cause an uproar.

Obama better keep an eye on this guy.

[sandyj999]

39. Extend your hand to bipartisanship and pull back a stub. n/t

[BrightKnight]

37. It sounds like that dimwit is shilling for Big Oil. - n/t