Electric transportation has torn the mask off or our un-fair gas tax. How will the government collect tax from those who no longer need to fill up?
The statement should be, thank God the scab has been torn off. We should all be taxed on how much we use. That money should be returned in an equitable fashion to those who must provide the roads we travel on.
It's time to tear up the contract and start over. This plan could easily be used by the Federal government, but I will settle for Oho and Pennsylvania for this exercise.
You pay for the miles you drive. Roads aren't free so get ready to pay your share commensurate with your usage.
Each year you will drive into a certified inspection station and record your current milage. To renew your yearly license plate, you again drive into a designated station, record your milage and you pay your road taxes based on the amount of milage you have driven.
Yes, but people will roll back their odometers, yes some will but few will choose to live outside the law. Yes, your plate price will increase but fairly. Want a cheaper plate, drive fewer miles.
But a border town will be un-taxed. No, it will balance out after all we should be in this together. It could easily be a Federal tax, but I trust the states more than the feds.
What about Federal highways, trucking companies will send their milage to the federal government to pave the federal highways. State turnpikes will fund themselves as they have always done.
The beauty of this plan is we will all pay at the pump, but just for the product, no more state and federal taxes at the pump. Just pay for the petrol.
The state will return money collected to the counties in proportion to the road miles under their jurisdiction.
This idea addresses the issue of 'Big Brother" and sensor on your car. Just go by milage, drive less, pay less. We may need to carve up Township, cities and towns road miles, but we'll figure that out. m
The entire system should be based on you pay for the miles your drive, no free lunch.
Dan Rivers
9a to noon
570 WKBN