California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger – he of the Hummer collection – has appointed a new Department of Motor Vehicles director who wants to tax motorists for every mile they drive using tracking devices in their cars.
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According to the Los Angeles Times, the proposal would mean a significant overhaul of how California collects taxes to maintain its often-crumbling roads. Under the plan, the state petrol tax – now 18 cents a gallon – would be replaced with a tax on every mile travelled by each car and truck.
The paper said the idea has not been endorsed by Schwarzenegger but is gaining acceptance among transportation and budget experts because, as Californians drive increasingly more fuel-efficient cars, state officials are alarmed that the petrol tax will not raise enough money to keep up with road needs.
Charging people for the miles they drive also worries some owners of hybrid cars, because it could wipe out any petrol-tax savings they now enjoy, the LA Times said.
Dan Beal, managing director of public policy for the Automobile Club of Southern California, told the paper that altering the system would remove one incentive to buying new-technology hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius, because its owner would pay the same fuel tax as a Hummer owner.
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By GlobalData“You are arguing against people taking risks on technology development,” Beal reportedly said, warning that some mile-tracking systems could invite fraud more than the reliable tax meters at the pump.
Noting that any change in the state’s petrol tax would have to be approved by the state government, the LA Times said privacy advocates are worried about the government tracking the whereabouts of every car in California.
In one scenario – currently being tested in the state of Oregon – tracking devices send a signal to a GPS satellite following the car, and that information would be used to calculate the tax bill. Other devices send a signal directly from the car to the pump, which calculates the tax based on the odometer reading, the paper said.
The Los Angeles Times said officials are intrigued by the idea because California could begin taxing people for using specific roads at specific times. To keep people off motorways at peak hours, for example, per-mile fees for city streets could be pegged at a lower rate than the freeway. That could prompt people to use alternative routes.
Similar schemes have been proposed for the United Kingdom and similar privacy issues raised, with civil libertarians concerned the tracking technology could be used in other, more sinister, ways.
The Los Angeles Times noted that the governor and other top aides are exploring ways to alter California’s petrol-driven society – Schwarzenegger wants more hybrid and hydrogen-fuelled cars, and his new EPA secretary, Terry Tamminen, reportedly is writing a book about ending the use of oil entirely, calling it a “dinosaur.”
Revenue from the petrol and diesel fuel tax — about $3.3 billion — will have declined 8% between 1998 and 2005, adjusted for inflation, but the amount of miles travelled by cars and trucks on California roads has increased 16%, according to a February report by the legislative analyst cited by the LA Times, while the California Transportation Commission has said the state needs about $100 billion in road and freeway repairs.
