Leaked Draft Bill Detailed Plan to Tax Drivers by Miles Driven
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Leaked Draft Bill Detailed Plan to Tax Drivers by Miles Driven
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=21568
Interesting. Everything is being denied at this point, but if an entire proposal was written up, there has to be some substance behind it.
Obama administration says it does not support leaked bill
The Obama administration is big on pushing Americans to alternative energy and vehicles that get better fuel economy. Part of the plan to get drivers to buy hybrids and EVs were big tax incentives that were matched by some states. One such state is Hawaii where the buyer of a new Mitsubishi EV can get the federal $7,500 credit and a $4,500 rebate from the state.
A draft was leaked recently of a proposal for a new plan to raise more money to repair roads around the country. The bill outlines a plan to charge vehicles based on the number of miles they driven. The proposal is apparently a grab by the government to help states recover some of the lost funds due to the adoption of EVs and hybrids that burn less fuel and make less tax revenue for states.
The leaked plan was part of a 500-page draft and proposed a new office at the Federal Highway Administration called the Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office. According to the draft, this office would be "[Authorized to conduct a] study framework that defines the functionality of a mileage-based user fee system and other systems."
Once the proposal leaked, lawmakers and others harshly criticized it. This strong backlash lead the Obama administration to disown the proposal. Transportation Department spokeswoman Olivia Alair said, "This was an early working draft proposal that was never formally circulated within the administration. This is not a bill supported by the administration."
The draft also proposed a hike in the maximum penalties an automaker was subject to from $15 million to $300 million if they fail to issue a recall. The draft also included new grants to fund alcohol ignition interlocks for DWI convicted drivers. The bill also required dealers to repair any recalls on used cars before selling them.
The Obama administration is big on pushing Americans to alternative energy and vehicles that get better fuel economy. Part of the plan to get drivers to buy hybrids and EVs were big tax incentives that were matched by some states. One such state is Hawaii where the buyer of a new Mitsubishi EV can get the federal $7,500 credit and a $4,500 rebate from the state.
A draft was leaked recently of a proposal for a new plan to raise more money to repair roads around the country. The bill outlines a plan to charge vehicles based on the number of miles they driven. The proposal is apparently a grab by the government to help states recover some of the lost funds due to the adoption of EVs and hybrids that burn less fuel and make less tax revenue for states.
The leaked plan was part of a 500-page draft and proposed a new office at the Federal Highway Administration called the Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office. According to the draft, this office would be "[Authorized to conduct a] study framework that defines the functionality of a mileage-based user fee system and other systems."
Once the proposal leaked, lawmakers and others harshly criticized it. This strong backlash lead the Obama administration to disown the proposal. Transportation Department spokeswoman Olivia Alair said, "This was an early working draft proposal that was never formally circulated within the administration. This is not a bill supported by the administration."
The draft also proposed a hike in the maximum penalties an automaker was subject to from $15 million to $300 million if they fail to issue a recall. The draft also included new grants to fund alcohol ignition interlocks for DWI convicted drivers. The bill also required dealers to repair any recalls on used cars before selling them.
Interesting. Everything is being denied at this point, but if an entire proposal was written up, there has to be some substance behind it.
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From: Albany, NY
Re: Leaked Draft Bill Detailed Plan to Tax Drivers by Miles Driven
Something like this seems to come up just about every year. 
The people in Gov't can't get the federal gasoline tax raised from its current level of 18 cents a gallon. Something like this has no chance of passing.
The people in Gov't can't get the federal gasoline tax raised from its current level of 18 cents a gallon. Something like this has no chance of passing.
Last edited by Z28x; May 9, 2011 at 02:33 PM.
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From: Oakland, California
Re: Leaked Draft Bill Detailed Plan to Tax Drivers by Miles Driven
It was being talked about as far back as 6-years ago...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in674120.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in674120.shtml
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Re: Leaked Draft Bill Detailed Plan to Tax Drivers by Miles Driven
Within the last 10 years I've seen a lot of states let counties or government councils (groups of counties) hold a voter referendum on adding a penny sales tax for a certain number of years to repair and upgrade roads.
They propose a 1% sales tax ("Penny Tax" or "Transportation Tax" in documents), which is like the hospitality tax many cities and counties now use, and use the estimated revenue over a set period to generate a list of road projects to be completed under the program... for example, if the tax over 10 years is estimated to generate $1 billion, they would make a list of 15-20 most critical road/bridge projects that are intended to relieve congestion by widening roads, adding turn lanes and signals, and even interchanges to very high volume intersections. These improvements only happen within the counties which vote on it.
With that list, during election years they put the program on the ballots to be voted on. The tax can't happen unless a majority vote happens. Almost every one I've seen gets approved by the voters and it actually works pretty good and people overall are happy at the conclusion of the program since they specifically see where their tax money goes.
The counties know more about where the problem areas are than the states or feds since they personally deal with it every day. Its irritating when a particular road is a nightmare to get through during rush hour and its never touched, but 5 other roads within a 10 miles radius with half the traffic problems get all the attention in terms of construction.
IMO, letting the local areas go through with such tax programs is the way to go. If the states or feds have control over it, almost no one knows where the money goes or is ticked off when all the tax goes to just a couple of areas, not of their own benefit.
They propose a 1% sales tax ("Penny Tax" or "Transportation Tax" in documents), which is like the hospitality tax many cities and counties now use, and use the estimated revenue over a set period to generate a list of road projects to be completed under the program... for example, if the tax over 10 years is estimated to generate $1 billion, they would make a list of 15-20 most critical road/bridge projects that are intended to relieve congestion by widening roads, adding turn lanes and signals, and even interchanges to very high volume intersections. These improvements only happen within the counties which vote on it.
With that list, during election years they put the program on the ballots to be voted on. The tax can't happen unless a majority vote happens. Almost every one I've seen gets approved by the voters and it actually works pretty good and people overall are happy at the conclusion of the program since they specifically see where their tax money goes.
The counties know more about where the problem areas are than the states or feds since they personally deal with it every day. Its irritating when a particular road is a nightmare to get through during rush hour and its never touched, but 5 other roads within a 10 miles radius with half the traffic problems get all the attention in terms of construction.
IMO, letting the local areas go through with such tax programs is the way to go. If the states or feds have control over it, almost no one knows where the money goes or is ticked off when all the tax goes to just a couple of areas, not of their own benefit.
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From: upstate New York
Re: Leaked Draft Bill Detailed Plan to Tax Drivers by Miles Driven
You already pay such a tax, indirectly, if you are buying gas- multiple layers of taxes on it, and the more you drive, the more you burn- and the more taxes you already are paying.
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Re: Leaked Draft Bill Detailed Plan to Tax Drivers by Miles Driven
That's the biggest problem with the mileage tax as shown... at least in past editions I've seen of it. They want the tax in addition to the existing fuel tax. Since they needed 500 pages to write this thing out, who knows what else is in there that we don't know about. They might even have the tiered system to rating your tax per mile based on the vehicle you drive (higher rate for SUVs versus compacts, etc). That's been thrown around a lot in recent years also since they can't prorate the fuel tax to the vehicle driven at the pump.
We're gonna get taxed somehow. Either like this or that dreaded "carbon tax" which ignited a political firestorm 2 years ago. Govs are hungry for revenue.
We're gonna get taxed somehow. Either like this or that dreaded "carbon tax" which ignited a political firestorm 2 years ago. Govs are hungry for revenue.
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Joined: Jan 2000
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From: Albany, NY
Re: Leaked Draft Bill Detailed Plan to Tax Drivers by Miles Driven
If they need more money for roads then raising the fuel tax is the way to go. The systems for it are already in place and you don't have to worry about big brother watching where you are going.
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