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Obama Administration Shoots Down LaHood Mileage Tax Idea
President Obama's transportation department slapped down a suggestion by its own secretary Friday that the government tax motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn. Either they're floating a lot of trial balloons to see what flies or they're just not in control of anything in the West Wing ... Secretary Ray LaHood floated the idea in an interview with The Associated Press. Gasoline taxes for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction, but LaHood said they can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving. "We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled," the former Illinois Republican lawmaker said. Asked about the claim, transportation department spokeswoman Lori Irving immediately shot it down. "The policy of taxing motorists based on how many miles they have traveled is not and will not be Obama administration policy," she said. The mileage tax idea has already angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed. However, most transportation experts see a vehicle miles traveled tax as a long-term solution, though Congress is being urged to move in that direction now by funding pilot projects. The idea also is gaining ground in several states. Governors in Idaho and Rhode Island are talking about such programs, and a North Carolina panel suggested in December the state start charging motorists a quarter-cent for every mile as a substitute for the gas tax. A tentative plan in Massachusetts to use GPS chips in vehicles to charge motorists by the mile has drawn complaints from drivers who say it's an Orwellian intrusion by government into the lives of citizens. Other motorists say it eliminates an incentive to drive more fuel-efficient cars since gas guzzlers will be taxed at the same rate as fuel sippers. Besides a VMT tax, more tolls for highways and bridges and more government partnerships with business to finance transportation projects are other funding options, "What I see this administration doing is this -- thinking outside the box on how we fund our infrastructure in America," LaHood said. LaHood said he firmly opposes raising the federal gasoline tax in the current recession. He'll find another way to tax us, don't worry. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-21 |
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