Should drivers pay by the mile instead of the gallon?

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For nearly 80 years, motorists have paid a tax every time they put gas in their cars. What if they were taxed based on how far they drive instead?

The idea, known as vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) taxes, is likely to come up next week at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on ways to pay for future infrastructure. The Congressional Budget Office has talked up the idea, as did a group commissioned by Congress to explore transportation financing. Even the Obama administration floated the idea as part of a draft reauthorization of the highway funding bill, though the White House has since distanced itself from the idea.

Options to measure distance traveled range from regular odometer readings to GPS-enabled tracking that would determine where and when travel occurred. That would be useful if the government wants to charge higher rates during peak rush hours, for example, a concept already used to some extent on highways with electronic tolls.
But its chief appeal is money. The current consumption-driven system is becoming outdated as the number of fuel-efficient cars is growing and expected to soar in the coming years. Because they travel farther on a gallon of gas, the drivers of these vehicles are, in effect, paying less than they once did, and that is limiting the government's ability to maintain its transportation system.

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Department of Transportation has requested $20 million in next year’s budget to establish the Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office. The office, which would be located within the Federal Highway Administration, would look at a "range of revenue-generation alternatives," not just a tax on miles traveled.

Although there are other financing schemes, such as expanding toll roads and bridges, the VMT has gotten the most attention, because policy experts consider it to be the most reliable funding source for future highway projects. Why? The number of vehicle miles traveled increases at a faster rate than the consumption of gasoline, because of the introduction of more fuel-efficient cars. Transportation policy experts are concerned that taxes on fuel are not keeping pace with the demand for surface transportation projects, and there is not the political will to raise the gasoline tax

@Sweet_Merry Said

And then they'll find a way not to pay it. Just the little people .

@Coleosis Said

Well, definitely not going to a digital odometer...Ill just get another roller one that I can roll the miles back on.

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The new tax scheme, designed to help fund transportation spending, would determine your mileage by installing electronic equipment on your car.

In Minnesota, the state department of transportation is conducting a research project that would use smart phones with a GPS application to monitor mileage.

@white_swan53 Said

Nope, nothing so easy as that .

@Coleosis Said

Cant enforce a mileage tax without having the mileage on vehicles...Unless they put up more toll roads.

@white_swan53 Said

I read in one of the many links , that they are figuring a way to collect the tax at the gas pump . All the details will be figured out in the new 'Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office'.

@Coleosis Said

That would basically be impossible unless you entered your mileage at the gas pump, then I would just lie or roll back my odometer...Either way, its a dumb tax...They raise the gas prices and force people into fuel efficient vehicles, then realize that wasnt the best idea to make money, so now they are taxing people for trying to save money at the pump. How stupid can our gov get?

@jmo Said

Gasoline is so cheap in America compared to over here, can't figure out why you lot complain about it so much.

I read something in the Guardian a couple of months back which suggested it could be one of the key issues of the next election because of how expensive it is, it then went to show how the average price is less than half what we pay here yet here we don't give a s***, it's an expensive commodity which is contributing to global warming, government has every right to tax the s*** out of it.

@jmo Said

Gasoline is so cheap in America compared to over here, can't figure out why you lot complain about it so much.

I read something in the Guardian a couple of months back which suggested it could be one of the key issues of the next election because of how expensive it is, it then went to show how the average price is less than half what we pay here yet here we don't give a s***, it's an expensive commodity which is contributing to global warming, government has every right to tax the s*** out of it.