The Angry White Guy

Taxed by the mile

Posted July 2nd 2009 at 12:30 pm by AWG

You’ll remember that earlier this year Ray LaHood purposed that a tax by the mile would be better than a tax by the gallon, Obama quickly shoot this idea down… but did he?

See my original post HERE.

Well the tax by the mile is quietly rearing it’s ugly head again.

By-the-mile road tax could replace by-the-gallon federal fuel tax

The idea of shifting to a by-the-mile tax has been discussed for years, but it now appears to be getting more serious attention. A federal commission, after a two-year study, concluded earlier this year that the road tax was the “best path forward” to keep revenues flowing to highway and transportation projects, and could be an important new tool to help manage traffic and relieve congestion.

The decision by the 15-member National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission was unanimous, which surprised Robert Atkinson, the group’s chairman. But he said it became clear as the commission’s work progressed that a road tax on miles traveled was the best option.

Here’s why; when Obama gets on his high horse and issues cafe standards of a minimum miles per gallon for all vehicles there is a dark side. By having higher mileage standard the end consumer uses less gas and the less gas that is used the fewer gas taxes are paid and the fewer gas taxes paid mean less monies go into the Department of Highways coffers. So where do they get more money? Tax you by the miles you drive instead of the number of gallons you use.

Now for people like me that live in the middle of nowhere this would be a serious burr in my britches. For where I live this would be a huge tax burden and I get so sick and tired of libs saying will take the bus, take the train, take the subway… well there is no public transportation where I live, there are no buses, trains or subways… there are no taxis, no kidding!! I have to drive 30 miles round trip to the grocery, 60 miles round trip to the nearest sizable city and nearly 200 miles one way to a major airport and they’re thinking of taxing by the mile? They’d best think again.

So you’re asking “Well how are they going to do that?” Simple, by invading your privacy of course…

The year is 2020 and the gasoline tax is history. In its place you get a monthly tax bill based on each mile you drove — tracked by a Global Positioning System device in your car and uploaded to a billing center.

Read my lips… I don’t %&#@*! think so. If I want the government to know where I am, where I’m going and how long I’m there… I’ll tell them and I’m not. It’s none of there damn business.

The commission pegged 2020 as the year for the federal fuel tax, currently 18.5 cents a gallon, to be phased out and replaced by a road tax. One estimate of a road tax that would cover the current federal and state fuel taxes is 1 to 2 cents per mile for cars and light trucks.

So let us say you buy one of these little putt-putt cars because you have no other choice from Government Motors and all of it’s 5 HP manages to get 40 miles to the gallons, instead of paying 18.5 gallon in Federal tax to go those 40 miles, State tax not included you’ll be paying 40 cents or 80 cents per gallon you drive those 40 miles.

Now the University of Iowa, with the help of a $16 million federal grant, is beginning the field test that will eventually include 2,700 vehicles in six states. The vehicles equipped with computers and GPS devices will keep track of the miles traveled and send the data through wireless technology to a billing center that will compute “simulated” tax bills.

I foresee a very lucrative business in GPS blockers and disabler devices that will “simulate” you didn’t drive anywhere or as I will do and that is to keep driving the same old truck I’ve been driving for 15 years.

It goes on…

“There is a lot of work nationally going on that is beneath the surface,” said Pete Rahn, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Keep an ever watchful eye on your government… the government is watching you and as the Democrat will discover there is a lot going on nationally beneath the surface they’re aware of. (But that in you pipe and smoke it DHS)

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