One of the benefits of buying a car with better mileage is paying less in taxes at the pump. As the government tries to push better miles per gallon, government would of course need to replace the revenue confiscatory taxation it collects at the gas pump. How to do that? Why, tax by the mile, of course! 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.You [would] 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. How excited might you be to let the government not only track where you drive and where you are, but then tax you directly for your miles?Taxes tend to cause less stir when they are bundled with other costs. For example, your income is taxed before you receive it, and not afterward. Gas taxes are collected when you pay for your gas, not afterward. Sales tax is collected as part of the sale, not afterward. If Americans really understood how much they pay in taxes - all totalled - and had to pay separately, why there might even be a rebellion. But because the taxes are collected from so many diversified sources and are generally bundled with income or expense, we don't htink much of it. It's all hidden. Out of sight, out of mind. Which is why by-the-mile taxation will be a tough sell. Or should be. But Obama's telling us what lightbulbs we can have now, so maybe people will mindlessly put up with this new paradigm. |
