GBC reports suggests gas tax alternative
The Greater Baltimore Committee has long been a supporter of a higher gas tax to pay for critical maryland Transportation projects. However, the General Assembly has not raised that 23.5-cent-a-gallon tax since the early 1990s, and the last three governors haven't dared to touch that political third rail.
On the federal level, the gas tax has remained at 18.4 cents since early in the Clinton administration.
Reading the political handwriting on the wall, the GBC has issued a report on another proposed method of financing transportation. The business group is intrigued by the idea of taxing vehicles based on the number of miles they have traveled on each type of road through a GPS-vased system.
It all boils down to a matter of picking your poison. Infrastructure isn't cheap.
When all the alternatives are hashed out -- a miles-traveled tax, higher tolls, registration fees, nuisance fees, selling infrastructure off to investors for the right to raise tolls -- maybe the humble motor fuel tax won't look so bad. It's simple, it's understandable, it doesn't put a large bill in your face. The burden falls on those who guzzle the most gas. And there's a system in place to collect it.
Could it be the worst alternative except for all the others?
Comments
Can you explain how a VMT tax is different than a gas tax? By that I mean: isn't a gas tax already very much like a VMT tax? You consume more fuel the more you travel, and the more often your need to refill, the more often you pay this tax. A VMT tax just seems very big-brotherish insofar as mileage is gauged by GPS, and I don't care for it at all.
Perhaps this is just the State's way of punishing us for driving more fuel efficient vehicles and staving off nasty emissions?
And, how does a State VMT tax, monitored by GPS or other government intrusion, play when traveling on toll-roads and/or between two or more states? I can see ConLaw experts gearing up already.
Posted by: Pete | June 1, 2009 12:05 PM