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GPS-Based System For Driving Tax Being Field Tested
An anonymous reader writes "Apparently, since gas consumption is going down and fuel efficient cars are becoming more popular, the government is looking into a new form of taxation to create revenue for transportation projects. This new system is a 'by-the-mile tax,' requiring GPS in cars so it can track the mileage. Once a month, the data gets uploaded to a billing center and you are conveniently charged for how much you drove. 'A federal commission, after a two-year study, concluded earlier this year that the road tax was the "best path forward" to keep revenues flowing to highway and transportation projects, and could be an important new tool to help manage traffic and relieve congestion. ... The commission pegged 2020 as the year for the federal fuel tax, currently 18.5 cents a gallon, to be phased out and replaced by a road tax. One estimate of a road tax that would cover the current federal and state fuel taxes is 1 to 2 cents per mile for cars and light trucks.'"
Think of the government lobbyists, you insensitive clod!
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
We don't do shit to repair the roads as it is! If this was put into place we'd find a way to further screw over our highways. Some of these potholes are big enough the only way we get them filled is to hold a funeral in one.
"Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
Onstar=owned by GM
GM=owned by Obama
Onstar=Obama, QED
This is the change you voted for.
I, for one, embrace our benevolent despot.
Also, in Indiana, they don't verbs.
I try not to. The doctor said not to get my blood pressure up that high.
When you want something built, come see me. If you want correct grammar and spelling, get a F*ing liberal arts student.
You're just trying to trick me into removing my hat!
That would be all well and good if a mileage tax was really what they were after. It should be obvious to anyone who is familiar with the events over the past decade or so, however, that this is hardly the case. Now that they have identified where everybody is going on airplanes, cars are an unknown variable. This system, pawned off as a "tax" is like using the "drinking age" to get everybody to carry ID. It identifies cars -- and by extension their drivers -- with locations constantly. It is just one step further toward Big Brother and a Federal government knows where you are and what you are doing at all times.
You're not drinking enough fluoride.
I just happen to REALLY like tunnels.
I had a car (an old sunbird circa 1986) that had a funny odometer. Sometimes the odometer would roll backwards. And when it would, it would go about 5 times as fast as it would go forward. It would probably happen once every month or two & usually do it for about a day.
Vote Quimby.
Great idea, Comrade. Now report to Gitmo for your manditory citizen re-education training and seminars and stop criticising the Holy Government.
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
I guess I no longer have to worry about the signs in Virginia which alert me that "Speed limits enforced by aircraft." I always figured they'd just hit you with a SAM and be done with it, though I can see how this might hurt the revenue angle. :-)
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Nah, SAMs go the other way around. Besides they'd just damage the road, and then who'd fix it?
The airplanes are just there to alert the Land forces if you need a TOW. ;)
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I think that's a very good question... a survey of what they drive might be very enlightening. Anecdotally, I've observed they tend toward the Hummer Experience.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?