Ray LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation, recently suggested that the Obama administration tax motorists based on their mileage instead of their gasoline consumption. The argument goes that as the public starts using more fuel-efficient cars, the government will receive less revenue to fund the construction and maintenance of our roads. This must be an idea straight out of Detroit.
| Make/Model | Combined MPG |
Fed Gas Tax ($0.184/G for 100 Gallons) |
Miles Driven (100 Gallons) |
| Toyota Prius | 46 | $18.40 | 4,600 |
| Toyota Camry | 25 | $18.40 | 2,500 |
| Ford F-150 2WD | 16 | $18.40 | 1,600 |
| Total | $55.20 | 8,700 |
So, the table above shows how much the federal government will collect in gasoline sales taxes when the owners of each of the above three cars purchase 100 gallons of gasoline. The combined MPG numbers comes from www.fueleconomy.gov.
Now, I’m no fool. If the government is proposing a new tax formula, I’m pretty sure that it won’t end up being a tax cut. So, at a minimum, to collect the same amount of dollars, but on a mileage basis, this is how the numbers shake out.
| Make/Model | Miles Driven (100 Gallons) |
% of Total Miles Driven (100 Gallons) |
Fed Gas Tax (Total) |
Fed Gas Tax (Per Gallon) |
| Toyota Prius | 4,600 | 52.87% | $29.18 | 0.292 |
| Toyota Camry | 2,500 | 28.74% | $15.86 | 0.159 |
| Ford F-150 2WD | 1,600 | 18.39% | $10.15 | 0.102 |
How does the mileage tax look now? Imagine pulling up to the pump in a Toyota Prius and noticing that you are paying triple the federal gasoline tax on a per gallon basis as someone driving a Ford F-150 or a Hummer H3?
5 replies on “Mileage Tax”
It does not seem at all fair that if two people with different vehicle models who buy the same amount of gasoline should be charged a different tax amount because of their gas mileage. There is also the fact that citizens in rural areas need to drive further to get many commodities that are readily available to those who reside in a city. Why should they be held to the same standard for a mileage tax if it is necessary for one group to make longer road trips to support their lives?
It is hard to believe dozens of transportation experts could meet for two years to evaluate over 30 alternatives to the current flat per-gallon gas tax and not even consider a tax based on efficient vehicle assessment (EVA). As you know, a congressional commission has recommended to Congress and the DOT that a vehicle mileage tax (VMT) is the best alternative (having not considered an EVA tax) and at least 17 states (including MA) are now actively considering VMT. This is a very bad choice for several reasons, including that by taxing miles and not efficiency the VMT treats the Hummer as it does the hybrid or motorbike. In fact, a Hummer used in the suburbs to go from home to the local mall will pay less tax per gallon than will small vehicles that happen to be in a rural area (which obviously and unavoidably means longer drives). VMT also requires a massive effort and expense to equip all vehicles with mileage tracking mechanisms (GPS, odometer-reading, etc.) And, of course, it raises enormous privacy issues. A better name for it might be “Track ‘n Tax”.
EVA, on the other hand, does create an incentive to drive efficient vehicles (an incentive noticeable at each visit to the pump, not just upon purchase of the vehicle). It is a software installed at the pump that will calculate each vehicle’s per-gallon rate based on current VIN data (make, model, weight, year, etc.). A Hummer, therefore, would pay a much higher per gallon rate than the Ford Escort.
EVA is fair to rurual drivers. It requires each vehicle simply put a VIN barcoded decal on the windshield; the government structure is in place for this (RMV, DMV, etc.). And EVA raises no privacy issues.
probably because the gov. wants people to dislocate from the country and live in gov. houses according to agenda 21 of the U.N.
To do this, you have to not need to drive but just be avaialble to work–in fields like Lennon’s slaves. Lennon’s communist slaves didn’t need to drive–just need to work and make lots of bucks for the czars–you know castro’s slaves.
Are you out of your f- ing minds. I travel 70 mles one way each day to work because I want to work. This is a great example of the stupidity are electic officals are conducting behind are backs. If this passes I might as well quit adn draw food stamps.
and woe is me having to change the computer in my van that added 21,000 miles on it in the ten minutes it took to change it… maybe this should be thought through????? this is as stupid as the cash for clunkers deal that stripped the poor and lower middle class out of the vehicles they could afford… it’s o k for the rich that can afford a new car but the used ones should of been saved for the less fortunate… sounds like some crooked repugnaKKKion deal to put the squeeze on the working poor. call it as i see it.