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  #1  
Old 02-15-2005, 03:43 PM
Anders
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Orlando, FL
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States Mull Taxing Drivers By Mile

This frightens me. What is the point of driving fuel efficient diesels? Besides the fact that we love them.

From CBSNEWS.COM

States Mull Taxing Drivers By Mile
CORVALLIS, Ore., Feb. 14, 2005


College student Jayson Just commutes an odometer-spinning 2,000 miles a month. As CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports, his monthly gas bill once topped his car payment.

"I was paying about $500 a month," says Just.

So Just bought a fuel efficient hybrid and said goodbye to his gas-guzzling BMW.

And what kind of mileage does he get?

"The EPA estimate is 60 in the city, 51 on the highway," says Just.

And that saves him almost $300 a month in gas. It's great for Just but bad for the roads he's driving on, because he also pays a lot less in gasoline taxes which fund highway projects and road repairs. As more and more hybrids hit the road, cash-strapped states are warning of rough roads ahead.

Officials in car-clogged California are so worried they may be considering a replacement for the gas tax altogether, replacing it with something called "tax by the mile."

Seeing tax dollars dwindling, neighboring Oregon has already started road testing the idea.

"Drivers will get charged for how many miles they use the roads, and it's as simple as that," says engineer David Kim.

Kim and his team at Oregon State University equipped a test car with a global positioning device to keep track of its mileage. Eventually, every car would need one.

"So, if you drive 10 miles you will pay a certain fee which will be, let's say, one tenth of what someone pays if they drive 100 miles," says Kim.

The new tax would be charged each time you fill up. A computer inside the gas pump would communicate with your car's odometer to calculate how much you owe.

The system could also track how often you drive during rush hour and charge higher fees to discourage peak use. That's an idea that could break the bottleneck on California's freeways.

"We're getting a lot of interest from other states," says Jim Whitty of the Oregon Department of Transportation. "They're watching what we're doing.

"Transportation officials across the country are concerned about what's going to happen with the gas tax revenues."

Privacy advocates say it's more like big brother riding on your bumper, not to mention a disincentive to buy fuel-efficient cars.

"It's not fair for people like me who have to commute, and we don't have any choice but take the freeways," says Just. "We shouldn't have to be taxed."

But tax-by-mile advocates say it may be the only way to ensure that fuel efficiency doesn't prevent smooth sailing down the road.

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  #2  
Old 02-15-2005, 03:52 PM
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Leave it to the government to come up with a tax that has a

negative incentive
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  #3  
Old 02-15-2005, 04:26 PM
Dance'w'Diesels's Avatar
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This absurd tax will more than eliminate fuel efficient advancement. It will outright kill the automotive industry as we know it today. I'll trade my cars in for a bicycle
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Old 02-15-2005, 04:37 PM
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As I type, my diesle is idling in the driveway, for no reason other than it's going to the bidy shop in a day or so, I am stripping it and I wanted to let it run before it sat for a week or two.

Say I sat at idle for 3 hours per day while I napped, talked, etc... how would I be taxed if I drove a lot less than BC, yet used the same fuel?
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  #5  
Old 02-15-2005, 04:41 PM
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it's a spoof guys
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  #6  
Old 02-15-2005, 05:13 PM
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Unhappy Thank you for playing, please try again

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Burton
it's a spoof guys
Tragically, no, it isn't: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/14/eveningnews/main674120.shtml
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  #7  
Old 02-15-2005, 05:41 PM
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$500 in fuel in 2,000 miles? what is he driving, a sherman tank?

Leave it to some nut in California to dream that mess up........
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  #8  
Old 02-15-2005, 05:48 PM
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Wonder why the idea surfaced in Oregon? It's the all the Kalifornians moving up there and bringing all their stupid ideas with them.
Gotta question, what if your odometer doesn't work like in some of our MB's?
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  #9  
Old 02-15-2005, 05:50 PM
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This is such bs, I wouldn't pay that stupid tax they can shove it if they tried it on the right coast. Pigs will fly before the gov puts a GPS in my car.

I already pay tons of tax on every gallon of diesel I buy, and my car is taxed to the hilt (.35 mill rate in my town ) Screw them. The state is just pissed because they cannot properly manage the tax money coming in they just want more to waste.

CA is bankrupt anyway more money is not the solution less spending by the gov and the elemination of social programs is.
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  #10  
Old 02-15-2005, 05:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hatterasguy
.....CA is bankrupt anyway more money is not the solution less spending by the gov and the elemination of social programs is.
I agree but govt's don't think the way we do. Sad thing is that they are supposed to be working for us. I wish I could fire my govt.
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  #11  
Old 02-15-2005, 06:03 PM
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A GPS recever can be blocked, if you put say a thick peice of wood or a thin metal plate over it.

ODO's can be broken.

I wouldn't pay this tax and if they take me to court fine, I wouldn't mind fighting it.
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  #12  
Old 02-15-2005, 06:49 PM
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Angry Stupid idea.

from professional crooks.
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  #13  
Old 02-15-2005, 07:19 PM
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The idea of paying for what you use is not new. Certain European countries have had a version of this idea for years. Years ago, the original taxing formula was based on engine size, therefore the popular 1 liter and 3 liter engines. Today there are variations. The Czech Republic charges by time used on highways. There are no toll booths. Need to drive from Prague to Vienna and back?. You buy at their 7/11 a two day sticker to put on your window. About $3.00 for 120 miles. Don't bother to buy a sticker and the cops catch you about $50. and they check. Three times and you loose your car for a year.

If the proposed mileage charge takes into account the fuel efficiency or weight of the vehicle, I don't care. My out of pocket, could be about the same as the amount of fuel taxes paid times the gallons used. I believe the calculation would not charge the same per mile for an 18 wheeler as a Kia.

I like it because I hate paying taxes for other peoples' benefit. The less I pay for what I never use, the better it is.
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  #14  
Old 02-15-2005, 07:20 PM
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I don't understand all the resistance to this. Eliminate the fuel tax used to pay for roadways, and instead tax people based on the number of miles they actually drive on the roads - what could be fairer than that?

Just because you drive a fuel efficient vehicle has absolutely nothing to do with how much wear and tear you cause to the roads - that's a factor of the miles driven. The more you use the roads the more you should pay for that use.

Seems fair to me.

Kevin
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  #15  
Old 02-15-2005, 07:42 PM
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"I don't understand all the resistance to this. Eliminate the fuel tax used to pay for roadways, and instead tax people based on the number of miles they actually drive on the roads - what could be fairer than that?"

Unfortunately, the governmement NEVER repeals a tax that is already in place. They just add to them!!!

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