Here’s a riddle: the government is determined to reduce the average fuel consumption and therefore CO2 emissions of new vehicles. It is even provide federal tax incentives for buyers who choose to go “green”, ie hybrid or all-electrics.
It follows that by reducing fuel consumption, means a lower income in federal taxes on gasoline remained the same since 1993. Without new revenue, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that last August the Highway Trust Fund will need at least $ 110 million in funding for road repairs.
Ah, but government officials have already taken care of that.
According to The Detroit News, the Government Accountability Office offers a program based on the mileage of user fees, which would impose a tax on vehicle miles traveled.
The GAO says that commercial user charges imposed trucks in Germany and New Zealand have resulted in higher taxes and reduced road damage and urges Congress to establish a pilot program. “Without a federal pilot program to assess the best options for loading trucks and commercial electric vehicles for their road use and the costs and benefits of these systems, Congress lacks essential information for determine if the mileage of these vehicles could be a viable solution for a cost effective tool to help address the challenges of the nation’s surface transportation funding, “said the GAO.In order to cover the lack of funds, the driver of a vehicle with an average fuel consumption would have to pay $ 108 to $ 248 per year in mileage, compared to U.S. $ 96 today someone pays taxes gasoline.
GAO
a Plan B, as in the case where the mileage tax base does not go through:. gasoline tax increase from 18.4 to 31.6 to 46.6 cents per gallon
As the old adage goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch – not even a “green” one …
By Andrew Tsaousis
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