6 years ago
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California Considers Placing A Mileage Tax On Drivers
California is moving closer to charging drivers for every mile they drive. The state says it needs more money for road repairs, and the gas tax just isn’t bringing in enough revenue. The state recently road-tested a mileage monitoring plan. The California Road Charge Pilot Program is billed as a way for the state to move from its longstanding pump tax to a system where drivers pay based on their mileage.
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It seems reasonable. Tax the fuel and the miles.
Let's do an exercise.
Vehicle A gets 10 mpg and drives 600 miles a month. Vehicle B gets 40 mpg and drives 1200 miles a month. I'm going to assume it's all gasoline. I'm going to assume they have the same gas price of $2.50/gallon. California's gas tax is 41.7 cents per gallon plus 2.25% sales tax.
Vehicle A uses 60 gallons a month, which works out to $28.40/month in fuel tax. Vehicle B uses 30 gallons a month, which works out to $14.20/month in fuel tax.
If we add a $0.01/mile mileage tax, that adds $6.00 to Vehicle A, bringing the monthly cost to $34.40/month. If we add a $0.01/mile mileage tax, that adds $12.00 to Vehicle B, bringing the monthly cost to $26.20/month.
This way, Vehicle A still pays more tax and is basically 'penalized' for driving a gas guzzler, but the fact that it drove half the miles is worth something. Vehicle B still gets rewarded for driving a fuel efficient vehicle, but because it drives twice as many miles, there's some penalty for that.
The logic of it makes sense, but tracking the miles seems to be where I would be worried.