Prepare the Anus: NC DOT wants to charge you $0.005 for every mile you drive

[Ja Rhule]

Good chance it will pass... It seems NC hikes tax on something every 6 months.  At this rate we'll be the heaviest taxed state in the US.

 

 

 

RALEIGH, N.C. —

North Carolina Department of Transportation board members will hear a presentation Wednesday on a proposal to tax people based on the number of miles they drive.

It's an idea that didn't sit well with Henry Martin.

"Everything is taxed. Most of the highway belongs to me anyway, all the taxes I done paid in these years," he said.

Angela Vogel-Daley with AAA Carolinas thinks a mileage tax will be complicated to implement and costly.

"You'd either need to track your car where you drove, where would those miles go towards?" she said. "Would they go toward state, local, or federal government? If you do an odometer reading it's simpler but it could still be complicated and more of the revenue may go to administrative costs rather than funding the roads."

Vogel-Daley thinks increasing the gas tax would be the simplest alternative to generate funds.

Currently North Carolina drivers pay one of the highest rates in the country at just over 37 cents per gallon at the pump.

NCDOT said the proposed mileage tax would generate around $500 million a year, charging drivers a half cent per mile.

It pales in comparison to the $2.8 billion in state and federal dollars currently generated from the gas tax.

As cars become more fuel-efficient and driving habits change, money generated from the gas tax will likely decrease by 2018.

"The gas tax is not the vehicle that is the right tool for the job going forward," NCDOT Chief Financial Officer Mark Foster said.

Foster said regardless of what the NCDOT decides, transportation is a huge part of the economy and ultimately the state will need several tools to fund it into the future.

Click here to look at the Enhancement Revenue Study the NCDOT board will hear about tomorrow that explores the impact of a proposed state mileage tax.

 

 

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/ncdot-looking-tax-drivers-every-mile-they-drive/nfP3z/

[sharkkiller]

So what would prevent someone from disabling the odometer for half the year and paying half the tax? Or someone with an old car, like mine, that does not have a working odometer?

 

This tax is just a pipe dream thought up by someone who realized that more efficient cars means less gas tax.

[cookinwithgas]

We are still going to have roads to maintain next to less gas usage as cars get more efficient. The fact is this guy is right, a new model will be needed.

[Panthro]

So would they eliminate the gas tax and pass along a mileage tax?

 

Id be ok with that. Now what happens when I drive to florida....NC just made bank

[Darth Biscuit]

So would they eliminate the gas tax and pass along a mileage tax?

 

Id be ok with that. Now what happens when I drive to florida....NC just made bank

 

 

Eliminate an existing tax?  Haha.  Hahahaha.   Hahahahahahahahahahaha...

 

You're joking right?

[sharkkiller]

There is no way to enforce this tax. As Panthro said, why should you pay NC a tax for miles you drove on roads in other states. What about people who live in SC and work in NC or vice versa? A tax on car rental miles would make sense, but that would in no way make up the lost revenue from more efficient cars. 

 

This could never replace the tax on gas, it would have to be about 6 times more, or .03/mile. 

[Panthro]

Eliminate an existing tax?  Haha.  Hahahaha.   Hahahahahahahahahahaha...

 

You're joking right?

 

i mean

[cookinwithgas]

States will get together to figure something out. But eventually this will happen guaranteed.

[thatlookseasy]

Stupid idea, really hard to implement, and the gas tax is more fair anyway (from the DOT's perspective).  Heavier cars pay more per mile with the gas tax, and heavier cars cause more wear on the roads

[Chimera]

Election year methods to draw lines in the sand...

Move along

[cookinwithgas]

Yeah the trucking lobby isn't going to let that happen, and if I had a Volt id literally never have to use gas

[Chimera]

With GM recalls, you'd never use the volt either

[Jase]

sucks for people who bought their house out in the boonies

[sharkkiller]

There is a way to do this tax, but no one would like it. And I mean no one, the privacy issues would never let it pass, and it is waaaay to 1984ish, but the solution would be...............

 

Mandatory GPS installed on all vehicles. Can't pass inspection unless you have one. A system would have to be built to monitor and track each person's mileage, then you would be able to send one bill each year, and you could even divide it up by county if so desired. You coul exclude al miles outside of the state. You would just have to worry about hackers screwing with the GPS systems.

 

Not saying I advocate this, but it would really be the only feasible option to ensure that the tax is applied equitably to everyone.