CBO: Taxing mileage a 'practical option' for revenue enhancement

Originally posted by spikey
reply to post by Neo_Serf

 

Since costs are spread out to users and non users alike

In reality there are *no* non road users.

Everyone gets a benefit by proxy. Vehicles deliver goods and services, and while a non driver may not directly travel on the road system, they benefit from goods and services delivered or made possible by vehicles that do.

Right, by 'non users' I should have said 'direct non users'.

This does not change the fact that a monopoly over roads (or any service) will of course manifest the absolute worst possible configuration, as it has no competing models with which it can compete with and thus optimise. Any system protected from failiure will suceed only randomly.

Only the natural selection of competing models can achive efficientcy. As long as the state holds the roads captive and immune to competition, congestion, gridlock and dangerous roads will increase. This will not be solved by statist bandaid solutions.

Interesting that there are plenty of comments regarding the possibe taxing per mile of a vehicle but not much mention about the invasion of privacy it would involve.

Transponders in cars would provide detailed information about which vehicle has been where and exactly when.

While I realise there is already the facility to do this with street cameras, it would then expand beyond towns and cities and no visual method would be necessary. You/your vehicle would just be a number entered into another little black box hidden by the road.

Factory fitting would be simple as stated in the story and retrofitting would be a reasonably simple aftermarket option but this whole thing stinks to me and has been presented under the guise of being for conservation, economy and streamlining.

I've been working on a project in my barn recently....a 1984 mini 1000. It will be a car I intend to keep for as long as I can keep it rolling. The only black boxes are for lighting relays, fuses and simple stuff. No need to have a breakdown truck, a garage to plug in their expensive diagnostics, not much that cannot be fixed by the roadside barring major mechanical failure, but if I look after it that won't become an issue.

Economical, nippy, FUN, easy to get cheap spares and one of the greatest car models ever made.

No bugger is going to fit anything I don't want, which raises another interesting question while I type this....

Are they factoring in the costs of policing the installation of a mile measuring device in each vehicle, what if you don't have one because as "they" are always reminding us, we are all potential lawbreakers and must be controlled. And don't forget the billing and payment infrastructure.

I remember posting a thread yonks ago about something similar regarding number plate taggig in the UK and one thing that I recall was the infringement of privacy I mentioned earlier. While cars are often shared by friends, family and businesses, Motorbikes are more personal and not often shared. This provides easy tracking of an individual. NOT GOOD.

Not many replies but worth reading the linked to BBC article:
License Plate "Tagging" Conspiracy.

I'd never have any "un"optional aftermarket device fitted to any of my vehicles. I'd rather get a horse.

This all sounds like a ruse to me, bleedin' parasites..

Yeah. More Govt, more taxes, more restrictions

But at least we are getting higher MPG cars, thus reducing the amount of tax revenue to the Govt on fuel purchases. So they gotta take....er I mean supplement that somewhere.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
reply to post by schuyler

 

You know the difference between you and I? I never mind paying my taxes.

What an absolutely gross assumption on your part! Did I ever say I didn't mind paying my taxes? No, I did not. So that's not a "differennce" between you and I, is it? Just today I gleefully wrote a $2500 check for property taxes for 6 months and another $1000 to the feds for estimated 2011 taxes. I really hope they buy another A-10 with it!

Originally posted by ACTS 2:38
reply to post by schuyler

 

This is a second tax on my vehicle as I already as does everyone who buys Fuel pays a GAS TAX.

The second? Oh, come on. You paid sales tax when you bought the vehicle. If you bought a new gas guzzler you paid an extra tax for that. Every year you pay a license fee based, in part, on the worth of your vehicle, usually. Only a part of the fuel tax is federal. I don't know how many hidden taxes are in there, but ifr this were to come to pass, it would hardly be the SECOND tax.

Originally posted by EartOccupant
reply to post by ISRAELdid911

 

Indeed.. But what if you would be able to drive on HHO from your own solar panel?

Very true. In my state there is a bill in the legislature right now to charge the owners of all electric vehicles an extra $100 in license fees per year to make up for the fact that they won't be paying a gas tax on fuel purchased.

reply to post by schuyler


If that passing I will stick it right up there keester and sell my park my cars and ride my bike.

Screw them they milk us enough as it is.

Originally posted by Rocky Black
reply to post by schuyler

 

If that passing I will stick it right up there keester and sell my park my cars and ride my bike.

Screw them they milk us enough as it is.

That's what they want you to do. And if they are successful in getting you out of your vehicles they will no longer have gas tax revenue, therefore they will find another way to get it. Perhaps a tax in bicycles would be a good start.

reply to post by schuyler


Then I bust out the sneakers. And after that. I'll bust out my jet pack... Ha just kidding .

I will tell ya there is more than one way to skinn a cat.

This is kind of what they did in massachuesettes they jacked up the pack for smokes to raise revinue. To bad it back fired those losers and they actually lost revinue. People were leaving the state to go to NH and get them without the crazy taxes.

people should be outrages.

When I was in China you could get them for about 1.50 a pack. And that was with China tax.


This is how the goverment finds what we like and taxes the # out of it.

Stupid poloticians they will never learn.

Losers all of them. I hope they all get canned no matter what party they follow.

We need more normal civis in there not corrupt poloticians who follow the party.


This is the problem.

The average Joe will never get in becasue if they run the run against the politacal smear machine.

Sick.

Yup, the legislation passed yesterday. Electric cars pay $100 extra per year. They based this on the average vehicle traveling 12,500 miles a year so the $100 is half what people would have paid in fuel taxes to the state (not Feds). I drive about 3,000 miles per year. Guess my incentive to buy electric just kind of vanished.