from
(snip)"A new mileage fee. The $150-million plan would not include it, but the $300-million plan would impose a half-cent-per-mile fee, raising an estimated $50 million per year. But officials said yesterday that they expect to eliminate the transfer of some sales tax revenue to the transportation system, proposed elsewhere in the report. Raising the mileage fee to 1 cent per mile would make up the difference.
At a half-cent per mile, driving 10,000 miles per year would cost $50 per vehicle. One cent would cost $100.
Also referred to as a VMT fee (for vehicle miles traveled), the mileage fee would be based on odometer readings reported by vehicle owners when they renew their registrations. The mileage could be verified during mandatory auto inspections, the study says. Robert A. Shawver, the DOT’s assistant director, said that although one state, Oregon, is pilot-testing a similar fee, Rhode Island’s would be the first of its kind in the country. "(snip)
While nobody is really talking about this openly, states with budget problems are beginning to see the handwriting on the wall in several regards ...
- state residents shifting from gas guzzling SUV's to fuel sipping sub-compact cars is resulting in far fewer dollars worth of state 'road tax' revenues based on gasoline taxes
- state residents shifting from conventional vehicles to hybrid (and soon all electric) vehicles is resulting in a huge reduction in 'road tax' revenue dollars based on gasoline taxes
- by shifting to an annual direct 'road tax' based on miles driven as part of the annual vehicle registration / inspection procedure, the states can reinstate their 'road tax' revenues independent of the vehicle's gasoline consumption (or lack thereof)





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