Trump signals open to mileage tax with praise of Oregon program

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters




FEBRUARY 21, 2018 / 12:05 PM / UPDATED 3 MINUTES AGO


Reuters Staff

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday praised an experimental program in Oregon that charges a mileage tax to volunteer drivers, adding to signals that President Donald Trump is open to finding new revenue sources to pay for his proposed infrastructure program.

In the annual Economic Report of the President, the White House described Oregon as a “pioneer” in transportation funding and highlighted its funding initiative, which began in 2015.

Volunteers are charged a fee of 1.7 cents for each mile driven on state roads. In return, drivers get rebates for state fuel taxes. As of the end of 2016, only about 700 people were participating in the program, which is intended to gather data and generate consumer feedback.

“The program offers tangible evidence that a tax on vehicle miles traveled is a promising alternative to relying on fuel taxes,” the report said.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-economy/trump-signals-open-to-mileage-tax-with-praise-of-oregon-program-idUSKCN1G527O

[SCantiGOP]

1. This is really a game changer

Innovative thinking by the smartest president ever. If you extrapolate this to national figures, you could have thousands of people participating and raise ten of hundreds of dollars. Might be enough left over after we repave all the roads to Trump properties to build a second wall behind the wall that Mexico is going to pay for.

[Blue_Adept]

2. Any Oregon folks that can provide some local context?

[jalan48]

3. More fuel efficient cars, like the Prius, pay less tax if it's assessed at the pump.

Taxing according to miles driven is an attempt to get back some of the lost revenue created by fuel efficient cars.

It really benefits those who drive cars that put more carbon in the air, which Trump and the fossil fuel industry favor.

[7962]

4. Ive never liked the "per mile" idea. Tax the gas and toll the road. nt

[Sophia4]

7. Toll the road means that poor people can't afford to drive -- to work, to the doctor, etc.

[7962]

20. That is an issue, but you probably could avoid them

In LA, there are many different ways to avoid those highways
I also must admit I drive a good bit of miles yearly so I'm biased.
Would a mileage tax be deductible?

[Sophia4]

21. No. You can't avoid "those highways" in LA.

Not if you go more than 5 miles. The sidestreets are incredibly slow because we have so, so, so, so much traffic.

People who don't live in LA would not be able to imagine or believe how bad our traffic is at peak hours. We need better public transportation. But progress on it is so slow.

[7962]

22. Oh,yes, you're right. Its slow ALL the time. Only time I've seen light traffic is at 230am.

But if a toll will get a major improvement a lot faster than whats been going on previously, I'll accept it. Doing things the old way (look at the "big dig&quot has got to stop.
I'm skeptical that it would makes things happen a lot faster, but its worth a shot.

[Sophia4]

23. It is slow when you need to get to work or get home after work.

A toll will not get a major improvement a lot faster.

What we need is better public transportation.

I've lived in Los Angeles for many, many years. It just gets worse and worse. Try the 5 Freeway one of these days -- any day. Maybe the traffic is not so bad on Sunday morning, but any other time short of around midnight????

[7962]

24. I've always loved the idea of running transit trains in the highway median

As people sit in traffic, the train whizzes by. Little by little, I think that would have an impact

I'll once again have the joy of LA traffic in a couple weeks!!

[Sophia4]

25. Good idea. True in one area that I know of - the freeway 134/210 that goes from

Los Angeles and South Pasadena to Sierra Madre. The Gold Line is down the middle of it. I love the Gold Line and use it a lot.

[LanternWaste]

18. Sounds almost as horrid as setting Shakespearean plays in a contemporary setting.

Sounds almost as horrid as setting Shakespearean plays in a contemporary setting.

[TranssexualKaren]

5. Dont get too impressed by this....

Of course republicans are on board with the most regressive form of taxation that you could imagine. Sheldon Adelson and the janitor in one of his casinos drives the same number of miles.

[TranssexualKaren]

6. And how are these small government conservatives going to regulate this?

Will a big brother monitoring system be installed in our cars?

[jmowreader]

8. Commercial truckers already do this

Complying with fuel tax regs is the hardest thing a trucker does, because you have to report every gallon of fuel you buy, whether you paid tax on it already, and every mile you drive in every state you visit. The IFTA system’s saving grace is the old system was worse.

I predict this is something he’d implement in his second term. Something like this would turn Idaho blue.

[vkkv]

10. "Something like this would turn Idaho blue." - And rural California, too. nt

[TranssexualKaren]

16. when I am at work I have to account for my time and expenses....

When I am on my own time my time belongs to me.

[vkkv]

9. His rural, long range driving supports are going to LOVE THIS !!

[jmowreader]

11. You understand why hes doing this

The deplorables don’t think it’s fair that some hippie liberal in a Prius or a diesel Bug pays less fuel tax than a Good All American Trump Supporter pays in his 10-year-old F-350 with flawless paint in the bed. And they definitely don’t like rich hippie liberals who drive Nissan Leafs and BMW i3s not paying fuel tax at all. Per-mile tax will end that.

[vkkv]

12. Of course I get that, but the reality is that rural America generally travels far more miles to town

- to shop, to visit family, the Dr., their friends, the bank, everywhere is further in rural America.

When my wife and I lived on the Monterey Penin., shopping was two miles away, up in the Sierra foothills we're driving 12.5 miles to the closest groceries. 25 miles round trip.

This per mile tax will still end up screwing stupid right-wing rural Americans more.

The answer is for rural America to buy more fuel efficient vehicles and be glad -as I am -that others' electric and fuel efficient cars should in-effect be keeping gas prices lower than if everyone drove gas guzzlers.

[jmowreader]

13. What I expect...

Is Trump will have a representative sample of rural deplorables send their fuel use and mileage drive figures in, and a per-mile tax that saves pickup owners money while screwing everyone else will be proposed.

At which point we tell Trump he needs to start paying fuel tax on every mile he travels for golf.

[dembotoz]

14. spent years in outside sales...1st for 2106 is gone, now this????? bend over and spread your cheeks

this is gonna hurt

[moriah]

15. How will they prove miles driven on state roads? GPS trackers?

Seriously, the recordkeeping without a little thingy in your car sounds hard to do.

And fortunately most paranoid rural people are also not keen on thr guv'munt having the ability to track the vehicle. Insurance companies and Snapshot-type discount devices scare most of them enough.

[jalan48]

17. My understanding is that all newer cars have tracking devices installed at the factory.

[7962]

19. Some enterprising young lass or lad will surely figure out how to defeat that!

I m not enough of an engineer to do it though!

[bitterross]

26. That will last about a day until the auto-makers and Big Oil change his mind.

45 will reverse on this just as soon as the auto-makers and big oil slap him down.