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Thread: Gas tax on miles, not gallons, tested

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    Default Gas tax on miles, not gallons, tested

    Gas tax on miles, not gallons, tested

    PORTLAND, Ore., March 25 (UPI) -- Oregon is testing the idea of collecting highway funds through a tax on miles driven, rather than gasoline consumed.
    Eighty percent of Oregon's highway money comes from its 24-cents-per-gallon gas tax. If the state promotes reducing gasoline consumption and consumers tend to buy the fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids, highway revenues would take a hit, The New York Times reported.
    The test program uses a global positioning system to track miles driven, using a black box to calculate how many miles are clocked in-state, out of state and during rush hour.
    The experiment is designed to increase state revenue for road maintenance without raising gasoline taxes, but critics say collecting GPS records poses new privacy issues.
    "The existence of such a database, which would, for the first time in history, allow for the creation of detailed daily itineraries of every driver, raises obvious privacy concerns," said David L. Sobel, general counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a civil liberties group in Washington.


    http://upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?St...5-031322-1742r

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    Now wouldn't this just promote the opposite? Whats the point of getting a fuel efficient car when I'll be taxed the same as a gas guzzler.

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    I've got your hardwood.... right here Durandal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by annihilation
    Now wouldn't this just promote the opposite? Whats the point of getting a fuel efficient car when I'll be taxed the same as a gas guzzler.
    Bingo...we have a winner. My thoughts exactly.

    I think their goal is to raise taxes in this case, not drive change in vehicle types.

    If their goal; was to force people to switch they would increase the tax level per gallon, like maybe to a 1.00 or 1.24 per gallon.

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    Loadmaster General Laworkerbee's Avatar
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    The government is scared ****less about losing revenue from gas taxes, what will they do when we go electric or some other hybrid....they are thinking beyond it and trying to find a new way in the art of lifting money from our pockets.

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    Senior Member XShipRider's Avatar
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    Leave it to Oregon to stick it to the truck drivers. The very people
    who deliver the goods you see on every single store shelf will get
    royally shafted.

    The natural order of political inanity will be to give the truck drivers
    a tax break. But wait! We can't stop there ... we have to give a break
    to low income families, essentially creating a graduated mileage tax.
    Why stop there.. the elderly need a break too.

    Oh, lest we forget.... how long before those GPS units are used to rein in
    speeders?

    This law is destined to fail on the merits. Oh, never mind, there aren't any.

    What are they smoking over there?

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    Senior Member ElHombre's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by XShipRider
    Leave it to Oregon to stick it to the truck drivers. The very people
    who deliver the goods you see on every single store shelf will get
    royally shafted.
    it's those trucks which cause most of the damage to the roads. next time you see a pothole, thank a heavily-laden truck.

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    eye candy of death 2Sheds_Jackson's Avatar
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    Oh yeah, this is gonna be great. We'll have people selling GPS jammers, black-box reprogrammers etc. in the back of Car & Driver before long.

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    No Good Bloody Seppo California Joe's Avatar
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    Yeah, who needs those truckers, it's not like they're hauling logs anymore. Stupid spotted owls.

    America depends on trucks to move nearly everything, as we have let the railroad infastructure decay to the point of absurdity.

    What about UPS guys, taxis, salesmen etc....lot's o' miles.

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    Senior Member StukaJr's Avatar
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    This reminds me of the time when USPS proposed "stamp tax" for every e-mail sent Typical behaviour of looking to get revenue from the things that are free or regain the shrinking revenues from other alternatives becoming available. Did the people who proposed this even looked into the costs of outfitting every registered car and truck with a GPS? Who's gonna spill for mandatory GPS receivers? Better yet, inplant GPS into people and every time they begin moving faster than 5 miles an hour - charge them for it! Moving around fast is a privilege - not a right!

    I'll file this together with serialized bullits - fooking hillarious! Some bill makers need a copy of the US constitution and the amendments taped over their monitors - "I'm gonna write a bill! Ehhh... What this say? never mind... I'm gonna write a bill! Ehhh... What this say? never mind..."

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    I've got your hardwood.... right here Durandal's Avatar
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    And now there is talk of internet providers charging you for the amount of traffic, not a straight up service charge...

    Gonna get like Europe soon boys. Get ready.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Durandal
    And now there is talk of internet providers charging you for the amount of traffic, not a straight up service charge...

    Gonna get like Europe soon boys. Get ready.
    They already do for cell phones. You want to access google lets say. You pay the cell phone company for the internet access on the phone. On top of that they want a cut from google for you to be allowed to access google. Of course regular ISP now want to get involve in this. Trying to get ever damn dime out of you.

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