A proposal for a mileage tax?

[BillyV]

Think hard about what you posted. What do you think electronic tolling is, if not tracking your every move? THINK!

It's tracking you at a toll booth, not everywhere. I use one every day and have yet to get "hassled by the man". The point is, if they want to track you now they can; a GPS installed in your vehicle, however, makes it intrusive to the extent that they can trace
ANYWHERE you go at any time, wherever you might go that you would rather not share with the world. Do you really want the IRS to have a record of everywhere you go? I don't.

You're not paying attention: THERE WILL BE NO TOLL BOOTHS! Open-road tolling has sensors all along the road. It IS tracking every move!

I see no evidence of that, and it wouldn't make economic sense. Why would they invest in more technology than is needed to collect the amount due? On a limited access highway, there is only a monetary incentive to collect tolls at the entry and exit points. If they really wanted to track your every move, a GPS installed in the vehicle would be by far the most cost effective (or they could just tune in to your cell phone!). No, it's not reasonable to assume they will use open road tolling as a tracking device except to the extent that the sensor is already there to collect the money.

 

[alan1]

Miles-Driven Could Replace Gasoline Tax, LaTourette Says - Bloomberg

This issue?...AGAIN?...
There are those who believe that because with gasoline prices expected to hover around $4 per gallon, any increase in the federal gasoline tax( 18.6 cpg) would be politically unpalatable.
So in order to enact another federal money grab, these geniuses are proposing a mileage tax.
The problem with this is how to implement this.
The current technology is GPS devices. These devices would in effect allow government bureaucrats to track the movements of all who operate automobiles.
This smacks of Big Brother.
Another issue. We are being asked by our elected officials to find ways to conserve fuel. Cars and trucks are manufactured to burn fuel more cleanly and more efficiently. The government stands and cheers. However, those in charge are also concerned with lower revenues generated by fuel taxes. So they propose an alternate tax. In effect we are being punished for doing the right thing.
Comments?

Not an alternate tax, an additional tax.
Always creative enough to figure out a new tax, never creative enough to control spending.

 

[thereisnospoon]

That's an incredibly stupid idea. A way to "broaden the base" and exempt the monied interests from what the rest of us have to burden

Would you be so kind as to expand on "exempt the monied interests"?

Sure. Presently everyone who goes to the gas station pays the same rate at the pump. But if e were being charged by a mileage sensor, it would be easy enough for fleet vehicles and whatnot to be exempted from having the censor, much like it is with emission standards in some places.

Let's not deal in speculation.
I'd like to focus narrowly on the subject of a mileage tax.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Miles-Driven Could Replace Gasoline Tax, LaTourette Says - Bloomberg

This issue?...AGAIN?...
There are those who believe that because with gasoline prices expected to hover around $4 per gallon, any increase in the federal gasoline tax( 18.6 cpg) would be politically unpalatable.
So in order to enact another federal money grab, these geniuses are proposing a mileage tax.
The problem with this is how to implement this.
The current technology is GPS devices. These devices would in effect allow government bureaucrats to track the movements of all who operate automobiles.
This smacks of Big Brother.
Another issue. We are being asked by our elected officials to find ways to conserve fuel. Cars and trucks are manufactured to burn fuel more cleanly and more efficiently. The government stands and cheers. However, those in charge are also concerned with lower revenues generated by fuel taxes. So they propose an alternate tax. In effect we are being punished for doing the right thing.
Comments?

Not an alternate tax, an additional tax.
Always creative enough to figure out a new tax, never creative enough to control spending.

The story states the tax would replace the federal gasoline tax.
IN the case of fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me, taxes NEVER go away. SO the notion that the current tax would end is unlikely.
IS there anything else about this that tax proposal and the method by which it would be implemented, gives you pause?