Virginia House of Delegates rep David Poisson (D-Loudoun) has introduced legislation to create a system to track the driving habits of Virginia motorists, imposing a tax on every mile driven, opening the way for congestion charging. Poisson argues that the legislature should adopt so-called “Road Pricing” during the 2009 session to compensate for dwindling gas tax revenue. “Inflation and escalating construction costs have severely eroded the purchasing power of fuel-tax revenue,” Poisson said in a statement. “At the same time, tax receipts are dropping as soaring gas prices and a weak economy reduce traffic volume. When people do drive, it is in more fuel-efficient cars, which only makes our revenue problems worse. Clearly, we can’t continue this way.” Well of course not. Only the facts tell a slightly different tale…
According to the latest available state data, gas tax revenue was down 1.5 percent in the current fiscal year compared with last year. However, gas tax revenues– about $900m per year — continue to climb when compared to previous years. Current year collections were up 2.6 percent compared to fiscal 2007, despite gasoline prices that were 75 cents per gallon more expensive. Even the 1.5 percent drop in motor vehicle fuel excise tax collections had little effect on total transportation fund revenues. Thanks to increases in other fees and taxes, overall collections were up 13.9 percent for the year.
Nonetheless, state lawmakers and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials have embraced the tolling concept, agreeing in June to add toll lanes to the Capital Beltway. A private consortium headed by Transurban will operate the toll lanes for a significant profit. To help advance its US plans, the Australian company gave $179k in illegal campaign contributions to legislators and Governor Tim Kaine (D). Poisson introduced a separate measure, House Bill 1590, that makes rush hour toll payments tax deductible. In effect, this lowers the price of driving for in-state motorists and raises the cost of driving for out-of-state motorists.
Dang! We’ve told y’all save gas and be nace to that environment-thang, but hey, y’all oughta not do that, y’hea?
Virgina? Sounds like it could be either very boring or very interesting, depending on your perspective.
So how are they going to tax “every mile driven?” It’s not feasible to put a toll booth at every intersection in Virginia.
“Wait, we raise taxes but get less in tax revenue? Huh?”
If there’s a problem with highway funding, why not just increase the gas tax and be done with it? It is a tax that is directly proportionate to one’s use of the roads. No fiddling with expensive and unreliable electronic nannies of any of that. And it encourages car-pooling and other behaviors that can lower our overall oil demand, reduce funding of Iranian military ambitions and, for those of us who think most scientists are honest, hard-working intelligent people who just want answers to life’s questions, help combat Anthropogenic Climate Change.
If our reps are freaked out about taxation, they can make it revenue-neutral by cutting some other tax (although, with the deficit where it stands, I wouldn’t recommend that).
Is that the state famous for family incest? Interesting proposition, hopefully when Obama will move to white house, there will be much more surveillance with his 250K new army. We may all be walking or riding bicycles.
How much you want to bet that government officials and congresspersons are exempt?
Or you could, you know, raise the gas tax to the same level as most other civilized nations…
…but that’s not the American way! In the US, we tax you you death by a thousand little cuts so that you can feel better about not having to support anyone else. Except, you know, the mammoth bureaucracy that gets created to deal with the morass of tolls and granular taxes.
If there’s a problem with highway funding, why not just increase the gas tax and be done with it? It is a tax that is directly proportionate to one’s use of the roads.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In every state, but much worse in some (like Texas, where I come from), most urban roads (even if you’re just talking major arterials) don’t get funding from gas taxes at all.
The gas tax is basically a subsidy from urban drivers to suburban and rural drivers.
This mileage tax could, although probably wouldn’t, remedy some of this injustice (if you’re driving on a locally funded arterial, local government gets the money, i.e.)
I keep telling them to just raise the damn gas tax a few cents but they won’t listen. Everybody’s too scared to pay a few extra cents per gallon in exchange for better roads, hopefully less congestion (eventually).
He sees you when you are sleeping, he knows when you are awake…..
Do we really want or need the government tracking us at every step of our law abiding activites ?
This will be available to criminal or civil discovery via subpoena.
The insurance industry will eventually be able to find out where that car is really garaged at night. This one has constantly escaped the congestion pricing supporters in NYC, many of whom have “registrations of convenience” (lower taxes and insurance costs) outside NYC.
If it were about money alone, they could easily raise the tax. This tax works, as heavier vehicles cause more wear but burn more fuel. Those who use the system a lot pay more, those who use it little pay less.
This is about tracking and control, not about money.
The gas tax is basically a subsidy from urban drivers to suburban and rural drivers.
That has more to do with who owns the roads (or at least, who pays for them and how they get the money) than the idea of a gas tax itself. Apportion taxes out fairly and this becomes less of a problem.
Again, though, this requires the US to abandon its ridiculously balkanized taxation system. I won’t say that the Canadian transfer-payment system is perfect, but it’s got to be more efficient to have one collector than to have collectors per state/country/city.
I think they should talk to New Zealand about how they go about taxing diesel. That would be a cheaper, and less intrusive method of taxing road use than a big-brother “We are gonna watch where you go” system.
If you drive a diesel vehicle in NZ, you do not pay road taxes at the pump. Instead, you pre-pay for miles (Kilometers actually) directly to the state. The state then gives you a window sticker that shows how many Km you have pre-paid.
If you are pulled over, the cop compares your odometer to your sticker. If you are over the sticker limit, then you are fined, impounded, or whatever the law prescribes.
What this method does is even out the tax difference between two similar vehicles that have different fuel consumption rates due to motor technology employed.
This of course will be harder to implement in the US, unless it is done at the federal level. Otherwise, a VA car being driven on MD roads doesn’t pay anything to MD for the use of their roads (and visa-versa).
M1EK: The gas tax is basically a subsidy from urban drivers to suburban and rural drivers.
Except that urban drivers don’t drive as much as suburban and rural drivers. At least, that is supposedly one of the advantages of living in an urban area.
Since suburban and rural drivers pay the lion’s share of the tax – since they do most of the driving, they are paying most of the tax, as the amount collected is based on the amount of the gasoline used – they should reap most of the benefit.
RE: Virginia.
Virginia needs a small increase in the gas tax — 5 or 6 cents – which could more than cover the shortfall from hybrids/high efficiency/low sales due to high taxes.
The local D want a bit more than that, which would bring VA up to the same prices as MD and DC. Probably good for NoVA, but not needed for the rest of the state.
The real issue is a 2 billion budget deficit which needs to be funded, and a gas tax is not a bad way to do so.
Gas taxes in VA: All being done though VDOT (except Arlington). The real issue is VDOT is NOT interested in fixing small local congestion problems and wants instead to fix larger roads.
Don’t forget:
Virginia is for [Tax] Lovers.
snabster :
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Virginia needs a small increase in the gas tax — 5 or 6 cents – which could more than cover the shortfall from hybrids/high efficiency/low sales due to high taxes.
In my state (like all actually), the last two sales tax increases (a penny each time) was sold to us that it would fix all of the state’s financial issues. What a short memory the voting pubic has.
snabster: “Virginia needs a small increase in the gas tax — 5 or 6 cents – which could more than cover the shortfall from hybrids/high efficiency/low sales due to high taxes.”
You missed the point. There is no shortfall.
Speedlaw: “This is about tracking and control, not about money.”
Yes, but I’d add one more thing. It’s about kickbacks from the company that’s going to get the contract. London’s congestion tax is run by IBM. You can bet a few companies are licking their chops at the chance to run this boondoggle.
Considering I used to live in Virginia and I’m familiar with their prices, let me just say, they could, I don’t know, RAISE THE GAS TAX?
Seriously, Virginia was consistently 25c cheaper than Maryland and 50c cheaper than DC.
Not to mention their cigarettes were $2 cheaper than in DC – tax that too.
RichardD is apparently the only person that noticed the ENTIRE POINT of the article. i.e. THERE IS NO TAX SHORTFALL!!!
But, not only do almost all of the “commentors” miss that point, look at the Pavlonian response mechanism kick in and prompt them to “suggest” a tax raise…
Are the vast majority of Americans REALLY this dumb? As Airhen points out, what short memories the sheeple have. And they can’t figure out why they’re getting economically slaughtered… Unbelievable.
50merc, They will employ the same technology that they use in Melbourne, Australia, on the “CityLink” roads. (1) Divide the roads in sections (2) A separate toll for each section. Gantries with scanners and camera at the entry and exit of each section. (4) E-tags for the vehicles (but not motorbikes, too hard). (5) Have e-tag, bank debited, no tag three days to pay up or the police will issue summons/fine to pay up
Read all about it here -> http://www.citylink.com.au/
CityLink, the birthplace of Transurban.
geeber, your logic is severely flawed. The suburbanite does $10.00 worth of driving and pays $5.00 in tax; the 5 urbanites each do $4.00 of driving and pay $5.00 in tax.