Washington, Oregon, and Texas are considering implementing a VMT. The states in quetion are seeing a reduction in funding from the fuel taxes as more divers are buying fuel efficient cars. The VMT would tax the Chevy Volt drivers (currently not paying much fuel tax) just like the 1 ton truck drivers, reducing the incentive for buying a fuel efficient car. The notion is that all cars use the roads, so should they not be taxed the same? Yes, and no would be my answer. From a purely selfish perspective, if I were to live and work in a rural setting, I have a much longer drive - 50 miles each way - than the city dweller. I spend 2 hous a day on the roads at speeds that yield about 30 mpg (in my hypothetical accord). This also means my VMT would be based on 20k work miles each year. The city dweller who live 15 miles from work has fewer miles to travel, but gets poorer mileage and still spends 2 hours a day (sitting in traffic) on the roads. He is often travelling on interstates (paid for from federal funds). The City guys VMT would be based on 6K miles a year; 1/3 of mine. Basically, this tax attempts to offset ANY fuel effeciency attempts. That's what I hate about it. Well that, and there is no way they are going to drop the fuel tax...they will just have a new revenue stream. If you do not like the idea, let your state legislators know about it. I have a feeling that once enacted, more states are going to go that way - if they tried to do the right thing (raise the fuel tax to offset lost income), corporations would bitch about increased transportation costs. Since it will be a tax computed at inspection time, the large trucks will likely be exempt.
