Patterico's Pontifications

5/5/2011

Obama Administration Proposes Taxing You By the Mile—And That’s Not the Worst Part of It…

Filed under: General — Aaron Worthing @ 1:49 pm



[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here.  Or by Twitter @AaronWorthing.]

The worst part of it is how they would figure out how far you travelled…  by placing monitors on your cars.

I have called this administration’s philosophy “Democratic Totalitarianism” in the past, but that has to be the scariest example so far.

The good news is that they are already trying to distance themselves from their own proposal.  But this was the subject of a CBO proposal and has been Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)’s proposal for a while.  It’s not safe to assume it is DOA.

[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]

30 Responses to “Obama Administration Proposes Taxing You By the Mile—And That’s Not the Worst Part of It…”

  1. As if the existing “how much you drive” taxes, namely the state, federal and local taxes on gas (per gallon and as a sales tax), are not enough.

    Mitch (890cbf)

  2. And when do they start assessing fees if they decide that you are not driving enough?

    kimsch (2a7c0d)

  3. No wonder this tool (Conrad) is retiring instead of running for reelection in 2012. He obviously knows that his embrace of big government liberalism stands no chance in North Dakota. Unfortunately, he seems determined to do maximum damage on his way out, probably because he knows that Dems have about zero chance of holding that seat, and he wants to position himself for a cabinet job if Obama wins reelection.

    JVW (fb14f8)

  4. Let’s tax Obama everytime he proposes something pathetic.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  5. I understand that the proposed bill aims to tax all mileage – even that of delivery trucks. So, everything brought to market in the US will be hit with a tax based on the mileage it takes to carry it that distance. Not just final retail products, but components and raw materials too. And, it doesn’t replace the present gas tax – this is an additional grab for your money.

    JohnG (8d1b92)

  6. #4 that would eliminate the deficit overnight.

    Aaron Worthing (b1db52)

  7. Comment by kimsch — 5/5/2011 @ 2:26 pm

    You mean as the State of WA has proposed for hybrid/electric vehicles since they won’t be generating enough gas tax?

    The worst part of this is that after passing the Vehicle Milage Tax, they would rename the per/gallon gas tax a “production tax” of some kind and impose it on refiners, where it would be passed down to retailers, and consumers.
    We would end up being taxed twice on the same gas, and they still wouldn’t have enough money as spending would ratchet-up in anticipation of the new revenue stream, leaving us with an even greater deficit.

    AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92)

  8. I drive 45,000+ miles a year. I would like to see them try to stick a monitor on my car.

    JD (0d2ffc)

  9. Suppose the IRS started asking for annual odometer readings on all privately-owned vehicles. How many people would comply? How far would the IRS go to enforce compliance?

    gp (e96a2a)

  10. Andrea Dworkin would be perfect for Jay Carney. She had ties to the feminazi left and the anti-porn right[Nanny staters].

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  11. Here’s where those guys show how corrupt they are. The fairest way is to put the tax on gas. That way it is a direct tax based on how much you drive.

    But this proposal allows them to give more exemptions to their cronies. Not that I favor their proposal.

    Arizona Bob (7d2a2c)

  12. Like I said Obaba needs to have his butt taxed everytime he spouts class warfare.

    DohBiden (15aa57)

  13. Conrad appears to be a dangerous nitwit!

    lonetown (d7ec3b)

  14. I think we should switch to state-owned toll roads and tell the federal government to stop being so gay.

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  15. May I please be excused from commenting today? We received our property tax bill in the mail, and I filled up the car’s gas tank. I don’t feel too good, and I am afraid for what I might say.

    elissa (70e463)

  16. If paying taxes is patriotic, and Joe Biden assured us it was, and if dissent is patriotic, as the media assured us ad naseum 7 years ago (but not so much lately), by not paying your taxes aren’t you kind of breaking even on the patriotism front?

    As a corallary to this, rich people that want to raise your taxes while hiring tax attorneys to ensure they pay as little as possible are pretty much super patriots. Like George Washington without the hateful hate for cutting down trees (did George W have the right to kill to stay warm? I don’t think so.). As they force you to pay more taxes they are themselves dissenting on the tax front by avoiding them.

    East Bay Jay (19f566)

  17. Is this that mystery revenue source ($400 billion as I recall) over which Ray LaHood was called on the carpet in House testimony earlier this year?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  18. I am with Elissa. I wonder how much they would tax me for 45,000 miles, on top of the taxes I already pay for the gas.

    Why do they never talk about how much money the government makes on a gallon of gas?

    JD (318f81)

  19. The govt makes more on a bbl of oil than the oil company does – another fact that the dance around.

    I anyone should be paying “windfall” taxes, it is Uncle Sam.

    AD-RtR/OS! (5261df)

  20. Oops….”they” …and… “If”

    Gotta clean this keyboard.

    AD-RtR/OS! (5261df)

  21. Next I suppose will be respiration meters to tax us both on the oxygen we consume and the CO2 released. Best get used to kissing your partner with a mask on.

    {+_+}

    (Because we can…)

    JD (bcdcf2)

  22. Let’s tax Obama everytime he proposes something pathetic.

    Let’s shoot him in the head every time he proposes something pathetic.

    Yeah, right, he’d last about five minutes, and we only get to do it once. That’s ok I’m cool wid dat.

    Oh, wait, am I promoting right wing racist hate violence again? DANG!!

    Smock Puppet (c9dcd8)

  23. this is an additional grab for your money.

    The Dems are in office. Is there ANY other kind? Not that the GOP never does crap like this… it’s just not a relentless assault with them.

    Smock Puppet (c9dcd8)

  24. (if you drive a car, car;) – I’ll tax the street;
    (if you try to sit, sit;) – I’ll tax your seat;
    (if you get too cold, cold;) – I’ll tax the heat;
    (if you take a walk, walk;) – I’ll tax your feet.
    Taxman!

    Icy Texan (b294a1)

  25. In theory, we already have mileage monitors in our cars, they’re called “odometers”, and the least objectionable sort of tax is a usage fee. But the devil IS in the details, of course, and I doubt our government would want to implement a law like this in a non-abusive manner.

    Brett Bellmore (6652c2)

  26. Captain Obvious opines:

    “If the gummint requires mileage monitors in new vehicles…who will be willing to buy the vehicles?”

    “New growth industry: enterprises specializing in removing gummint-mandated mileage monitors.”

    “Prices for good used cars without mileage monitors: up, up, UP!!!!”

    Modest prediction: Obama will join the Republican Party before this bone-headed mileage tax ever comes into effect.

    MarkJ (5cbdfb)

  27. The problem is that the fuel tax no longer pays for our highways. Something is going to have to change, and it will probably involve something like this plus tolling.

    One obvious example – trucks running on natural gas would avoid the tax, but still beat the roads.

    However, these funding decisions should be decided by the states, not the feds. Federal involvement should be transferred to the states. This should include the feds allowing interstates to be tolled so the states can pay for their maintenance that way if they choose.

    Amphipolis (b120ce)

  28. Is it that the fuel tax no longer pays for the roads, or that government has raided the fuel taxes to pay for other things too many times?

    kimsch (2a7c0d)

  29. I’m sure they were raided for things like public transit, but it still wouldn’t be enough – with construction costs rising and less gas being pumped.

    Amphipolis (b120ce)

  30. Is it that the fuel tax no longer pays for the roads, or that government has raided the fuel taxes to pay for other things too many times?

    As I understand it, it began as the first, but, thanks to CAFE standards, evolved into the latter.

    Seriously, if you were going to construct a system for paying for the roads which made sense, it would kind of have to involve keeping track of how many miles were driven. Ideally with vehicles divided into rate categories according to their tendency to damage roads.

    Just because a Democrat proposes something doesn’t mean it makes no sense. Probably just means it won’t be implemented in a sensible manner…

    Brett Bellmore (6652c2)


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