Texas to Study Per-Mile Gas Tax
Transportation officials in Texas are recommending a fresh look at the prospect of taxing the state's drivers by the mile.
Texas transportation officials say the study is meant to help give lawmakers information on options ahead of their next regular session in 2011, when they confront a funding squeeze that is expected to drain the highway fund of money for new construction contracts by 2012.
'We need to think differently about how we fund transportation,' Texas Transportation Commission Chairwoman Deirdre Delisi said at a Texas Taxpayers and Research Association forum in November."
Texas joins other states and the federal government in considering the move. Though many in the state concede a transition from a per-gallon tax to a per-mile tax would be politically difficult, fiscal problems within the state could help make the idea more acceptable in the near future.
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- Increasing State Gas Taxes Insufficient To Meet Road Projects' Costs - Dec 27, 2011
- As Congress Rejects Transportation Funding, Voters Embrace It - Nov 18, 2011
- Texas Infrastructure Under Gov. Perry - Aug 20, 2011
- Idea to Tax Drivers By the Mile Gathers Support in Washington - May 14, 2009
- 10-Cent Gas Tax Needed for Dallas-Fort Worth Transit - May 09, 2009
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Why not both?
Why not charge both distance and consumption taxes? Each tax has a role in paying for road maintenance, alternative and mass transit, and providing complete streets. The gas tax encourages fuel economy. The distance tax encourages drivers to reduce distances driven. Both need to be raised dramatically if the US is going to have a workable transit system.
I am surprised that often this discussion falls into a false dichotomy between distance and gas quantity taxes.
I agree. But because a
I agree. But because a Hummer might consume twice as much gas as another car, yet does several times as much damage to the roads, the only fair way to charge for the damage is with a distance tax based on the weight of the vehicle.