posted
This is really a message for the passenger-rail "detractors" who think that planes and cars are the only "reasonable" means of transportation :
Both the government and auto makers rave about the possibility that cars of the future with use alternative sources of fuel instead of gasoline , thus lessening our nation's dependence upon oil.
But, just imagine what this would do to the highway trust fund that uses gasoline taxes as a major source of revenue ? Money to build new highways and bridges and repair the ones present now will continue to require billions and nillions of dollars. This money has to come from somewhere.
If , by chance , fuel efficient vehicles DO become a very popular option in the future , isn't it obvious that less and less gasoline will be required and thus less and less money being fed into the highway trust fund.
My prediction:
Beware future owners of these vehicles ! To replace the loss of revenue from gasoline taxes , owners of these vehicles (at time of inspection where required by law , or as an added yearly fee) will pay a MILEAGE charge for those vehicles. The fee each owner will pay will be directly related to odometer miles !!!!
Mark my work , the government will not stand "idly by" as more and more of these vehicles become popular and use our nation's highways and bridges. The highway trust fund WILL remain funded at the usual rate , regardless of WHAT kind of fuel future vehicles use.
Obviously, one of the best ways to save transportation energy is to carry the most travelers for the least amount of energy expended. Passenger-rail is an excellent way to DO that. But I am afraid our nation will never appreciate that "logic."
So those individuals who are now purchasing these "alternative-fuel" vehicles must understand that they WILL continue to FUND the highway trust fund----only in a very "unexpected" way.
Posts: 187 | From: Pittsburgh , PA | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
A mileage rate of tax does not differentiate that heavier vehicles cause more wear to highways than do light ones. A fuel tax based on "so much a gallon' does.
Probably hybrid vehicles will have to be equipped with a meter showing watts of power that is used. From that, the highway use tax will be calculated and could be assessed as part of the vehicle registration renewal process.
But then, I'm sure "sharpies' out there are already figuring out how to defeat any such metering devices.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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On numerous occasions over the past 60 to 80 years there have been proposals for "ton mile" taxes in some form or other on trucks. These have all failed so thoroughly and so quickly that no one even tries any more. This is one issue that the Teamsters, non-union drivers, the big trucking companies, the small trucking companies, and the owner operators are all united about. The absolutely last thing they want to have happen is to pay their legitimate share of the cost the vehicles they drive and own cause in road damage. As a result, their taxes ares seldom more than two to three times that of an automobile, despite the fact that the damage they do to the highways is 20 times or more. Also, look at the truck tolls on any toll road: Seldom are the truck tolls more than twice that of an automobile, and there is little if any differentiation between the 5 to 8 ton delivery truck and the 40 ton highway boxcar.
This does not even get into the cost of new construction. A higway built for automobiles and light trucks ONLY would for items other than earthmoving, that is such things as paving, bridges, cost less than half that of one designed to permit heavy trucks.
If a milage rate of tax does come about, you can bet dollars to doughnuts that it will in no way result in any sort of equity. It will end up warped and twisted to suit the noisy special interests beyond all recognition.
George
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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I don't think a mileage tax will get anywhere. People don't like the idea of being monitored, and won't have much patience with legislators who want to do that. Besides, the gas tax is indirectly a mileage tax anyway. More miles = more fuel = more taxes.
To get back to the original concern, I have my doubts that alternative fuels will be cheaper than gasoline. If they were cheaper to produce, we'd probably all be using them by now. From what I understand it is only because of the rising cost of gasoline that alternative fuels are starting to be considered competitive.
Vehicle efficiency is another matter. The current crop of politicians are unlikeky to raise the tax rate to compensate. But as I said, monitoring the drivers will go over very badly. My prediction: they will raid the general fund and raise "user fees" to compensate for the loss of revenue to other programs. Smoke and mirrors.
Posts: 2649 | From: California's Monterey Peninsula | Registered: Dec 2000
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posted
My father used to have a Ford camper van that he converted to run on propane. Because the wholesalers don't pay fuel tax on propane, my father had to buy a sticker from the State of California to show he had paid road use tax. Here in the Adobe Disneyland--Santa Fe--some people actually run their diesel Volkswagens, etc., on used french fry oil. They don't pay road use tax and they think they're smart, at least until they have to replace their injectors.
The main reason that a 10% blend of ethanol with gasoline is cheaper is that the wholesalers don't pay tax on the ethanol, up to 10 %. I don't know what the rules are for "biodiesel," which is mostly soybean oil.
Trucks certainly do NOT pay their fair share of the damage they do to the roads, but this is just a government subsidy to the trucking industry. As I've said before, there isn't any transportation system that isn't subsidized to some extent.
Most economists, according to an article in The New Yorker, believe that the motor fuel tax is about as fair as it can be. But I agree, trucks need to pay more.
-------------------- Kiernan Posts: 155 | From: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Registered: Apr 2005
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