Vehicle mileage tax gains steam
The new program would tax motorists based on the number of miles they drive each year.
Here’s an excerpt from McClatchy (you can read the whole piece here):
… the proposal is raising privacy concerns — particularly if GPS devices were to monitor mileage — and opponents say that the last thing people need is a new tax, particularly in a recession. Some critics, moreover, fear that it would have a disproportionate impact in states such as California, which has longer-than-average commutes.
This type of usage tax has long been popular with environmentalists, and their arguments aren’t bad ones.
Still, there’s an element of cynicism here. After World War II the federal government went to bat in a major way for automakers, tire makers and the oil industry. Among the results was the interstate highway system, the systematic elimination of various forms of public transportation, and a generation of urban planning that catered strictly to the automobile.
The result is an environment in which its often difficult not to drive, and in which to live a “walkable” lifestyle is often an expensive prospect. In broadly general terms, town centers that offer opportunities for public transportation aren’t cheap places to live.
As is too often the case, the folks who are left with few options but to drive a long way to work would be most burdened by this tax, and they’ll be the ones least able to afford it.
Tags: mcclatchy newspapers, mileage tax, Politics
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