The Congressional Budget Office has just released a report that says it is feasible. The first question I what sort of devious person could come up with such an idea? A Democrat, of course.
Kent Conrad (D-ND), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee is exploring it as a way to raise money in response to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s report to the Committee that the Obama Administration wants to spend 556 B dollars on transportation over the next six years. [Note the 6 yr presumption]. A VMT (Vehicle Mileage Tax) could be the answer. The idea is to apply it in addition to, not in place of, the gasoline tax.
Here is how the CBO’s lengthy report says Big Brother could work. First of all, every new car would be required to be fitted with a tamper-proof reporting GPS. This would add about $200 to the cost of a car. Every gas station would be required to have a seamless receiving link, a sort of wireless wifi that reads your GPS and adds the mileage tax to the cost of the fuel you buy. Obviously this would take some time to set up. The CBO says 2 years. The only major problem that remains unresolved is how to deal with older cars. Retrofitting them with the snitch boxes would be more expensive and more difficult to make tamper-proof.
If the VAT doesn’t get you, the VMT might. Either way you’re ZAPPED.
RANDOM THOTS 