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U.S. DOT outlines steps to manage Trust Fund shortfall
The dirty little secret here is that the gas tax has not been raised to keep pace with inflation, otherwise the problem would not be so grave. And don’t forget the transit portion is miniscule.
It’s time to scrap the fuel tax.
It’s time to establish a user fee…mileage based, vehicle weight indexed.
It’s time to establish a mileage certification officer at the local police headquarters where a notification document would be issued for presentation to the DMV when reregistering the vehicle. The officer might turn up some unpaid parking citations…
Keying funding to miles traveled rather than fuel purchases…the certificate biased against the miles recorded on the registration being renewed
And pol’s…not raising a tax, even dropping a tax…you can run on that, right?..(or left.)
Vehicle powered by natural or petroleum compressed gas, hybrid, electricity only, steam made by burning October’s raked-up leaves or chipped Christmas trees in January…
No gasoline tax revenue…no matter.
Fuel taxes should be raised to cover costs of maintaining the transportation system. A fuel tax per gallon is an equitable way of assessing a use fee without getting overly complicated. It rewards those who have more efficient vehicles.
The problem with the gas tax is that all vehicles are more efficient than when the tax was established. It hasn’t been indexed to keep up with the overall gains in MPGs. People are driving more miles (causing more damage) on less fuel and paying less tax, since it is per gallon, not a percentage of the price.