Taxed by the Mile?

Recently on the news there has been talk of taxing vehicles by the mile instead of by using gas taxes. Actually, I suspect it would end up in addition to the gas taxes and that is a major problem.

The concept is not bad, in some respects, since the idea is to tax people for what they drive instead of the gas they use. This would help vehicle owners which have poor fuel economy or who get stuck in traffic, but it would harm those vehicle owners which are very fuel efficient. Part of the reason for this change is that with vehicles getting better fuel economy are using less less and therefore generating less tax money. The government does not like it when people pay less and so they are taking action to correct that by taxing people more.

There are some problems with the concept of taxing by the mile. Should people be taxed when they drive off road? Actually, off road is not quite accurate since more often than not it is driving on dirt roads. Currently people are taxed for roads when they purchase gas for a lawn mower or other items which are not used on the roads. This change would correct that, but at what cost? The purpose of the tax is for roads, so if the roads are not improved, then why should someone be taxed? Also, what happens when you drive out of state? How are they going to take that into account? What about all the people who come from out of state and drive on the roads? Currently people from out of state get taxed when they purchase gas, but that would change if you attempt to tax people by the mile. Maybe registering a vehicle out of state, although it is illegal if you get caught, would be a way to get around the taxes.

These are just some of the aspects to consider. The main thing is that the government often wastes money, so giving them more just means more wasted money.