Just logical explanation for increasing taxes

[Brian Henderson]

My wife is a transportation researcher and she does a lot in this area. Transportation infrastructure is primarily paid with gas tax and cars are becoming more fuel efficient. So less tax is collected. The gas tax in most states is a flat rate per gallon and not indexed. Most governments are reluctant to increase the gas tax so they add and increase "fees."

California has such a problem, especially because they pushed people to buy hybrids and electric cars, that now they aren't making much money off of gas taxes, so now they want to charge people who bought cars that don't use gas, fees, which is exactly the selling point for pushing people to buy the cars in the first place. And no, they aren't using any of that money to keep up the roads, which is why the taxes exist in the first place. Welcome to government.

[John Goodin]

Another issue I did not mention is that while the tax rate is flat and vehicles have become more efficient, the price of road construction and maintenance has gone through the roof. One idea she has researched is paying tax by the mile and eliminating gas taxes, at least at the state and local level. Oregon is a the forefront on this. It would be easy to do with today's technology and could be paid at the pump. Similar to what Progressive is offering as a alternative to traditional insurance. Personally a bit too big brotherish.

[Art Mann]

All the tax cuts have left governments broke at every level. Since people hate tax increases, governments have to get creative.

What tax cuts? I am not aware of any tax cuts.

[Neal Clayton]

Corporate loopholes and give-aways are tax cuts too. I pay as a percentage of profit 3x what Apple pays, and last time I looked they could buy Exxon with cash on hand.

[Mike Cutler]

In our county we paid taxes for cars we own - as probably anybody else. This year taxes increase and explanation from county employee - you drive LESS miles than expected. I completely lost - if I am driving less, why should I pay more taxes?
If anybody known and will be able to explain for me this logic?

Thank you, Ed.

In Connecticut there are at least two levels of tax. The wholesaler is taxed, then there is a tax per gallon based on pric per gallon, there use to be a flat tax per gallon, and probably still is. It's not easy to figure out just how much tax Connecticut is getting per gallon at the pump, but I'm pretty sure only California is higher for the CONUS.
Now they're starting to talk about bringing back the tolls in I-95 and implementing a " commuter tax".
When they read your OBDII port for emissions, you'll be charged so much per mile for the difference in miles logged since your last emissions report.
If they actually used it to improve the roads, I wouldn't gripe so much.
We have some really crappy roads in Connecticut.

The only logical explanation is that they work the formula backwards. First they decide how much they want, then they make the tax rates fit the formula.

[Brian Elfert]

Non-sequitur. You are talking only about the max load factor in road design. If there is a road where no traffic over 4 wheels is allowed, are you saying we don't need the road at all? Of course not. Are you saying the total cost would be significantly lower? I can't see that - the cost of land acquisition, design and engineering, off-ramps, bridges - big $$$, and the heavy load factor adds $$$, but not like 90% or anything.

There is a section of freeway here where trucks over 9,000 pounds GVW are not allowed due a lawsuit when the road was being planned. MNDOT has said the pavement is actually purposely thinner due to the lack of truck traffic. The pavement still wears out just like any other road and has to be repaved. I suspect the bridges are still designed the same as any other highway bridges.

[Brian Elfert]

Most of the mileage based proposals for road tax use a GPS module. There is a huge public outcry any time this is brought up because people don't want the government knowing every place they drive. Pretty soon the courts would be allowing law enforcement to pull this data to see if you where near the scene of a crime. Heck, they might add cellular wireless capability so government can track everywhere people go in the name of public safety. Law enforcement could pull up every car near the scene of a crime in seconds.

There are other ways to do this like just having odometers checked at registration time. Even a lot of the newer cars can have their odometers rolled back and there would be a black market to do this. If they simply checked odometers does one have to pay twice when they travel out of state and buy gas in a state that still has fuel taxes. How many new employees would be required to go out and check every car? Many states allow online and by mail registration renewal and this would end all that. Many people also renew their registration without having the vehicle with them. They might be renewing the spouse's car. (I know some states have annual inspections, but many do not.)

You're going to have a lot more tax cheats if the tax wasn't collected at the pump. How much hard a time would the IRS have collecting income taxes if employers didn't take it off the top? I bet people would go so far as to swap plates to a non-registered vehicle to put the miles on that non-registered vehicle and then swap the plates back to the registered car when it is time to check miles. There would be a black market for cages to block the GPS signal to the modules if they go with GPS. If one state had a mileage based tax with lower fuel taxes and the state next door had fuel taxes the gas stations on the border would do a booming business.

[Stan Calow]

Passenger cars don't damage roads nearly as much as weather, heavy vehicles, and soil conditions. The costs of repairs have to be covered somehow, and there is no way to do that without someone being unhappy.

[Frank Drew]

As a former resident of VA, now NC, I can tell you that Virginia has some of the finest roads in the nation.

I agree, Kent. Upkeep is frequent and the condition of the roads shows it.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I agree, Kent. Upkeep is frequent and the condition of the roads shows it.

Apparently neither of you has driven I-85 south between Petersburg and South Hill. Absolutely the worst interstate we have driven own, even worse than I-81 in PA!