More criticism of the 21st century Transportation Committee ideas
Update (Dec. 17): The report is now available.
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I posted last month about a vehicle mile tax being floated by the state's 21st Century Transportation Committee, which officially released its final report of recommendations to lawmakers today (I'm trying to locate an online copy). The recommendation's don't seem to impress many people.
From the Wilmington Star-News (commenting on the draft recommendations):
A committee of designated thinkers has been pondering that very question and has a few suggestions, one of which should be quickly discarded: replacing the gas tax with a tax on the number of miles driven in North Carolina. Aside from a the Big Brother aspect, it would seem to pose a number of problems.An odometer reading at the annual inspection presumably would determine the amount of the tax, but the 21st Century Transportation Committee has yet to explain how to distinguish between in-state and out-of-state miles. And what of the out-of-state vacationers, truckers and business travelers who cruise through North Carolina on the way somewhere else? Many of them currently pay the gas tax as they fill up, but it would be awfully difficult to track them down to pay by the mile.
The North Carolina Justice Center’s Budget & Tax Center says the committee presented a piecemeal approach that endorses pro-traffic congestion policies, glosses over critical issues, such as misallocation of resources, and doesn't flesh out how the vehicle miles tax would replace current revenue sources such as the gas tax.
“The report offers no consistent vision for how to move forward,” said Steve Jackson, a public policy analyst who focuses on transportation issues for the North Carolina Justice Center’s Budget & Tax Center. “Given how fundamental our transportation problems are in North Carolina, this is very disappointing. The policy solutions suggested are more 1955 than 2055.”
I'll post the report once I get a copy.
Comments (2)
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One question...are these people on crack? I mean, come on. Any sane person knows this plan is dead on arrival with the citizens of North Carolina. This VMT tax...who the hell thought this one up? So you're going to penalize me because I live in Greensboro/Jamestown and work in Winston-Salem (33 miles away) because there are no more jobs in Greensboro. Tax me, I dare you. This plan does nothing about the gas tax, it does nothing about reducing congestion or building roads, it does nothing about moving this state forward. Another car registration tax? Another tax on new car sales? In this economy, these people have to be nuts. NC is becoming a high taxed state, with no jobs, an eroding economic base...and we're talking about more taxes. Insane.
Posted on December 11, 2008 8:17 AM
The state is in quite a quandary. It's already facing a transportation budget hole and it has to figure out how to pay for roads during a national transition away from fossil fuels (gasoline). What will the state do about the gasoline "per gallon" tax? My question is, if we have a budget hole now, how will we not ever have a budget hole going forward?
On the one hand, an economic recession discourages driving for financial reasons but on the other hand high gas prices, which are expected to return, also discourage conventional vehicle driving. So it's kind of heads you lose, tails you lose.
Instituting a vehicle mile tax might just further reduce the amount of driving people do while at the same time discouraging people from investing in fuel efficient vehicles since they would be equally "penalized" for driving as those of conventional vehicles.
Vehicle registration taxes might be a safer bet as we'll have cars for a long time to come. Taxes based on the sales of cars might also see a plunge though as people buy fewer cars, at least while the recession lasts.
Posted on December 11, 2008 8:40 AM