Road tax plan just causes more problems


January 23, 2013 · Updated 12:56 PM 

 

I see another bureaucratic nightmare coming with the state looking into levying a road tax by mile. Unless the oil companies see a way to rake in more profits, eliminating the gas tax will lower the price of gas and will increase consumption because gas is cheaper. That's the reverse of what is needed to reduce consumption.

There are many problems. Do I get credit for my out-of-state miles? Who will check my odometer each year? Is my tax per mile for a 3,000-pound vehicle going to be the same as the little 900 pound SMART car and the 20,000 pound truck? How will they charge for mileage on interstate trucks? Will I get a separate bill to pay? Will it be prorated when I trade vehicles? You get the picture.

The gas tax is fairly applied now based upon the gas you buy. We should solve that problem instead of creating another bureaucracy costing more than it will take in with a new revenue system for the roads.

For electric vehicles, add a fee to the license tags based upon vehicle weight.

Olympia – can you hear us: Instead of creating five problems to solve one, keep it simple.

Larry Brickman, Bellevue

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