Currently, in most states, a gasoline tax is used to finance construction and repairs of our highways so that many single driver cars can roam freely.
But what happens when more and more alternative fuels are used? Check out this AP article on one true alternative. Yes, alternative fuels users, be ready to pony up money for a bond. The state needs its money. After fitting his car to use soybean oil, “Officials with the N.C. Department of Revenue noticed Teixeira last month near Lowe’s Motor Speedway while they were checking fuel tanks of diesel RVs for illegal fuel. The bumper sticker on his car that reads “Powered by 100% vegetable oil†grabbed their attention.”
So how were they checking these RVs? Opening fuel caps? Sounds like an illegal search to me. Taking some of their fuel? Sounds like theft to me.
And he bought the soybean oil in NC, so I am sure he paid sales tax on it. So now he has to pay tax twice. But all of this aside…how should we pay for our transportation infrastructure?
One comment on the original story suggested a miles tax: “I’m all for dropping the fuel tax in favor of a mileage tax paid when you renew your registration. You pay for 12,000 miles for the first year and then either get charged more or less than that the following years based on actual use.” This has some interesting ramifications in that unless someone comes to your car and looks at the odometer, there will be lying. There may even be some manipulation of odometers. And with cars now being computer-based, expect to see a webpage with hacks for changing your odometer setting.
I would like to see this tax rated on the car’s weight, mileage, rated miles per gallon and exhaust emissions report. Why weight? The heavier the car, the more damage is done by it on roads, and the more resources it takes to actually build the car. Mileage and air emissions should be taxed as a way to help pay for cleaning the air and water that car driving pollutes. A better maintained car (and exhaust emissions is one way to measure that) should pay less since it is doing less to hurt the environment.
Another method for taxing car use is being used in more and more cities across the country: Assessing fees for using carpool lanes. I read about this in today’s Wall Street Journal. For a flexible dollar amount depending on congestion, a single driver can use the carpool lane. Some people use the carpool lane for this reason all the time because it saves them time and gasoline. One person reduces their gasoline consumption by half because the stop and go traffic on congested highways takes so much more gas than even speed cruising.
From this I can see how flexible working hours, increased carpooling, increased public transportation has an additional side effects: Gas consumption of the cars left on the road will decrease as they can run at more efficient speeds.
If we are intent on making sure that people using the roads pay for the roads, then these tax methods should replace a gas tax. But maybe a gas tax of some kind can be used to phase out the use of gasoline with more environmental and safer products, just like taxes on tobacco are used to limit tobacco use and pay for the medical costs involved.
Great work, keep it up…..