That appears to be the theory behind this proposal from Barack Obama’s Transportation Secretary:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn — an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed.
Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation’s transportation system moving, LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled,” the former Illinois Republican lawmaker said.
I’ll leave to economists to debate and determine the merits of a VMT vs. gasoline taxes when it comes to funding highway construction and maintenance. However, this much is clear; if a VMT is implemented it would have to be accompanied by an across the board reduction of gasoline and other automotive-related taxes at all levels of government. Otherwise, the VMT would just be an additional tax on top of all the others and the cost of transportation, for both individuals and shippers, would increase exponentially.
Beyond the economic issues, though, there are the privacy concerns:
The system would require all cars and trucks be equipped with global satellite positioning technology, a transponder, a clock and other equipment to record how many miles a vehicle was driven, whether it was driven on highways or secondary roads, and even whether it was driven during peak traffic periods or off-peak hours.
The device would tally how much tax motorists owed depending upon their road use. Motorists would pay the amount owed when it was downloaded, probably at gas stations at first, but an alternative eventually would be needed.
Imagine that, a device in your car that would theoretically allow the government to track where you go and how you get there. A much more powerful version of Ez-Pass.
Personally, I don’t trust my government with that kind of technology.
Nor do I. No way in heck I’m driving anything with a full-time tracking device on it. Not to mention defeating such things is remarkably easy – put a piece of foil over it.
[...] “If It Moves, Tax It,” Doug Mataconis, Below The Beltway With the recent passage of the Stimulus bill, you might wonder how much will be left in your pockets. Now, it seems that the Secretary of Transportation is considering adding a tax based on how much you drive. I guess the title of this post is true, “If It Moves, Tax It.” [...]
If anyone believes that the “per gallon” tax will be reduced, they must be from another planet. The only reason for this is to squeeze more money out of us. Can you imagine the herd of new bureaucrats that would be needed to oversee this fiasco? In addition to monitoring our mileage, I will be willing to bet that the device will also have the capability to disable our cars if we are not “in compliance” with an array of regulations. People who have been put in charge of our public budgets have two options every morning when they go to their office: They can either find ways to spend our money competently or they can find new ways to get more money from us so they can live the illusion of competence. I think it is becoming more obvious every day which method is going to be used by our government.