Fuel-efficient car penalties?
Discussion
Effectively an extra, mileage-based charge for those cars that are paying less fuel tax due to being fuel-efficient.
How long before we see the UK government doing the same?
LINKY
Quoted for those unable to see the link...
How long before we see the UK government doing the same?
LINKY
Quoted for those unable to see the link...
StatesmanJournal said:
Drivers of certain fuel-efficient vehicles who skirt paying a gas tax at the pump may have to pitch in to fund the state’s roads.
The state Legislature is expected to consider a bill that would require drivers with a vehicle getting at least 55 miles per gallon of gasoline or equivalent to pay a tax per mile after 2015. Drivers would also have the option of paying a flat amount annually.
Exactly what the rate per mile would be is up to lawmakers to decide in the upcoming legislative session. That part of the bill was intentionally left blank.
Oregonians currently pay 30 cents per gallon, a tax that is automatically added at the pump. But as cars become more fuel efficient and alternative fuel sources are identified, state officials project gas tax revenue will decline.
“Everybody uses the road and if some pay and some don’t then that’s an unfair situation that’s got to be resolved,” said Jim Whitty, manager of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Office of Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding.
Electric cars, for example, don’t use gasoline so those drivers don’t pay gas tax.
Lawmakers created a Road User Fee Task Force in 2001 to find a new revenue system to offset a drop in gas tax revenue. The group began looking at charging certain drivers per mile and launched a second pilot project in 2012 that tested the idea.
Other states, such as Nevada and Washington, are also looking at a per-mile charge. A Washington law that would charge electric car owners an annual fee goes into effect in February.
Groups opposed to the per-mile charge, such as the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association, say the high-mileage requirement would initially target electric vehicles and a broader voluntary pilot in the state should be explored.
“It will be one more obstacle that the industry and auto dealers will face in convincing consumers to buy these new cars,” said Paul Cosgrove, a lobbyist for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.
The administrative costs of starting the new system would also outweigh any additional revenue for years, he noted.
In August, the Obama Administration finalized standards that increased the fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by 2025 -- which is what the bill used to base its high-mileage requirement.
Under the pilot, about 50 participants in Oregon paid 1.56 cents per mile and received a credit for the gas tax they paid at the pump. Participants, which mainly included transportation officials and lawmakers, chose from five plans with different ways to track miles driven and pay their bill.
They could report miles driven using a smartphone application, a geographic positioning system device or a reporting device without GPS.
Participants could also pay a flat annual charge or opt out of using a gadget in the vehicle to record miles.
Whitty said offering different plans helped mitigate any privacy concerns raised during the first pilot in 2006 about the government knowing whether a car is being driven outside the state or on private roads. Drivers would not be charged for driving on those roads and would be able to get refunded for the amount under House Bill 2453.
The pilot was split into two phases -- one with internal combustion engine vehicles and another with electric and hybrid vehicles. Technological issues such as debugging surrounding the smartphone application were being worked out in between the two phases but are now fixed, Whitty said.
Phase one runs from November to the end of January and participants have received their bill for the first month.
“ODOT is comfortable — and apparently the task force is, too — that we have the right system that users can accept and we can operate. We just think we’re ready to do it. There’s no waiting necessary,” he said.
Pilot participants said the plans were easy to sign up for and the device accurately recorded their miles.
Oregon Transportation Commissioner Mary Olson was tracking whether she would be charged for miles on private roads using her odometer and comparing it to a device, which used GPS.
“It was scary accurate,” she said. “I was very pleased.”
Bob Stacey, a metro councilor for District 6, said the device accurately recorded which miles he drove in another state and made him more aware of how much he was driving.
“It was kind of positive feedback or encouragement to try to lose a pound or two,” Stacey said.
A similar bill that applied to electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles was introduced in 2011 but never made it to the House floor for a vote.
Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem, co-chair of the House Revenue Committee and a member of the Road User Fee Task Force, said there was still uncertainty at the time surrounding the per-mile charge. But with a second pilot, the new bill that was introduced by the House Revenue Committee is a better one.
“There’s a basic unfairness around that tax and everyone is looking for the magic way to at least get the ball rolling on a different way of doing this; one that reconnects mileage with taxes paid,” Berger said.
Passing the bill would require a three-fifths majority.
The state Legislature is expected to consider a bill that would require drivers with a vehicle getting at least 55 miles per gallon of gasoline or equivalent to pay a tax per mile after 2015. Drivers would also have the option of paying a flat amount annually.
Exactly what the rate per mile would be is up to lawmakers to decide in the upcoming legislative session. That part of the bill was intentionally left blank.
Oregonians currently pay 30 cents per gallon, a tax that is automatically added at the pump. But as cars become more fuel efficient and alternative fuel sources are identified, state officials project gas tax revenue will decline.
“Everybody uses the road and if some pay and some don’t then that’s an unfair situation that’s got to be resolved,” said Jim Whitty, manager of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Office of Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding.
Electric cars, for example, don’t use gasoline so those drivers don’t pay gas tax.
Lawmakers created a Road User Fee Task Force in 2001 to find a new revenue system to offset a drop in gas tax revenue. The group began looking at charging certain drivers per mile and launched a second pilot project in 2012 that tested the idea.
Other states, such as Nevada and Washington, are also looking at a per-mile charge. A Washington law that would charge electric car owners an annual fee goes into effect in February.
Groups opposed to the per-mile charge, such as the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association, say the high-mileage requirement would initially target electric vehicles and a broader voluntary pilot in the state should be explored.
“It will be one more obstacle that the industry and auto dealers will face in convincing consumers to buy these new cars,” said Paul Cosgrove, a lobbyist for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.
The administrative costs of starting the new system would also outweigh any additional revenue for years, he noted.
In August, the Obama Administration finalized standards that increased the fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by 2025 -- which is what the bill used to base its high-mileage requirement.
Under the pilot, about 50 participants in Oregon paid 1.56 cents per mile and received a credit for the gas tax they paid at the pump. Participants, which mainly included transportation officials and lawmakers, chose from five plans with different ways to track miles driven and pay their bill.
They could report miles driven using a smartphone application, a geographic positioning system device or a reporting device without GPS.
Participants could also pay a flat annual charge or opt out of using a gadget in the vehicle to record miles.
Whitty said offering different plans helped mitigate any privacy concerns raised during the first pilot in 2006 about the government knowing whether a car is being driven outside the state or on private roads. Drivers would not be charged for driving on those roads and would be able to get refunded for the amount under House Bill 2453.
The pilot was split into two phases -- one with internal combustion engine vehicles and another with electric and hybrid vehicles. Technological issues such as debugging surrounding the smartphone application were being worked out in between the two phases but are now fixed, Whitty said.
Phase one runs from November to the end of January and participants have received their bill for the first month.
“ODOT is comfortable — and apparently the task force is, too — that we have the right system that users can accept and we can operate. We just think we’re ready to do it. There’s no waiting necessary,” he said.
Pilot participants said the plans were easy to sign up for and the device accurately recorded their miles.
Oregon Transportation Commissioner Mary Olson was tracking whether she would be charged for miles on private roads using her odometer and comparing it to a device, which used GPS.
“It was scary accurate,” she said. “I was very pleased.”
Bob Stacey, a metro councilor for District 6, said the device accurately recorded which miles he drove in another state and made him more aware of how much he was driving.
“It was kind of positive feedback or encouragement to try to lose a pound or two,” Stacey said.
A similar bill that applied to electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles was introduced in 2011 but never made it to the House floor for a vote.
Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem, co-chair of the House Revenue Committee and a member of the Road User Fee Task Force, said there was still uncertainty at the time surrounding the per-mile charge. But with a second pilot, the new bill that was introduced by the House Revenue Committee is a better one.
“There’s a basic unfairness around that tax and everyone is looking for the magic way to at least get the ball rolling on a different way of doing this; one that reconnects mileage with taxes paid,” Berger said.
Passing the bill would require a three-fifths majority.
Edited by mmm-five on Friday 4th January 13:01
mmm-five said:
Effectively an extra, mileage-based charge for those cars that are paying less fuel tax due to being fuel-efficient.
How long before we see the UK government doing the same?
LINKY
Yeah, on the other hand, Oregon's state legislature can be a little bit odd when it comes to some things, if this ever does come to pass.How long before we see the UK government doing the same?
LINKY
C
StottyZr said:
I think it wants me to sign up to the site before I can read the article. Copy and paste?
Its not going to happen in the UK, as it goes against all the policys set about reducing greenhouse gases, the Americans don't have the same policies
You need to view this on a PC with Firefox as your web-brwoser, and the AdBlockPlus and NoScript plugins.Its not going to happen in the UK, as it goes against all the policys set about reducing greenhouse gases, the Americans don't have the same policies
The "sign up" thing doesn't jump in front of the text if you have those things.
C
I hope so and I hope they restructure the stupid car tax bands too, possible with pay per mile.
I may drive a 292g/km co2 car but I do less than 4k-5k mileage per year. So why should my car be charged 3x more than a horrible stinking dirty diesel that may do upwards of 20k per year.
I would happily welcome 2 options pay per mile say 5p per mile or a band like now. So I would have to do above 9000 miles before the pay per mile becomes financially worse off.
Tax dirty diesels whose particles emitter are much more harmful and tax them move above certain mileage brackets.
I may drive a 292g/km co2 car but I do less than 4k-5k mileage per year. So why should my car be charged 3x more than a horrible stinking dirty diesel that may do upwards of 20k per year.
I would happily welcome 2 options pay per mile say 5p per mile or a band like now. So I would have to do above 9000 miles before the pay per mile becomes financially worse off.
Tax dirty diesels whose particles emitter are much more harmful and tax them move above certain mileage brackets.
It sounds very stupid, but it's a fair point I guess: if everyone starts driving cars that can't be taxed at the pump, how do you make them pay for their proportion of wear and tear on the roads?
The UK configuration has no solid link between taxation and expenditure in this sense; basically income and council tax pay for roads, but then is this fair if you don't own a car? I'd say I'm fine with that, but it's not very American.
The UK configuration has no solid link between taxation and expenditure in this sense; basically income and council tax pay for roads, but then is this fair if you don't own a car? I'd say I'm fine with that, but it's not very American.
trashbat said:
It sounds very stupid, but it's a fair point I guess: if everyone starts driving cars that can't be taxed at the pump, how do you make them pay for their proportion of wear and tear on the roads?
The UK configuration has no solid link between taxation and expenditure in this sense; basically income and council tax pay for roads, but then is this fair if you don't own a car? I'd say I'm fine with that, but it's not very American.
I think it's fair. I'd have thought just about everyone uses the roads. Even if you don't own a car, most of us still get around a lot, which means buses and taxis as well as trains. And pavements. Council tax goes into the development of the area and the maintenance of services, focussed on the community rather than the individual. That works for me.The UK configuration has no solid link between taxation and expenditure in this sense; basically income and council tax pay for roads, but then is this fair if you don't own a car? I'd say I'm fine with that, but it's not very American.
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