12.15.09
Transportation Commission looking at a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax
Via the WacoTrib and ABJ we find out that the Texas Transportation Commission has formed a Highway User Fee Exploratory Committee to look into the feasibility of a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax.
In late November, the Texas Transportation Commission laid groundwork for a Highway User Fee Exploratory Committee that would begin meeting in March and draft a report by August, a few months before state lawmakers convene.
This is something that is worth looking into, but it should also be noted that a VMT tax will not implemented, and can’t take the place of the gas tax, anytime soon. This should not forestall any plans to raise and index the gas tax in the immediate future, so money can be raised to build the roads we need now.
The VMT tax still has many issues to be worked out, that’s for sure.
The VMT tax would be a paradigm shift for Texas. Oregon conducted a pilot program to see if a mileage tax was technologically feasible (they found that it was), but no states have adopted such a tax.
Chris Lippincott, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation, said the tax could be collected in a variety of ways, including an odometer check during drivers’ annual vehicle inspections or through GPS trackers.
Both methods have drawbacks, however.
Relying on an odometer check to tally mileage would mean drivers could be taxed for miles piled up in other states or off state roads.
The GPS method, though more precise, raises privacy concerns.
“There are people who have deep concerns about a black box in their cars that tells the government where you went and how long it took to get there,” Lippincott said.
Still, he said, “the review of the (VMT) tax is significant because the motor fuels tax is a tax of declining usefulness and, at some point in the future, the tax is something that may be considered by the Legislature.”
[...]
When asked how long it could take, given the privacy and environmental concerns with mileage taxes, [Chris Evilia, director of the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization] said we won’t see mileage taxes cropping up overnight.
“I think it’s going to take at least a decade, and some say maybe even a generation,” he said.
A couple of things. If it was so feasible, it would have been implemented somewhere by now. It’s also going to take quite some time to get all vehicles on the road with a GPS system on board. And yes, there will be resistance from drivers to being tracked at all times. Or the alternative, getting an annual tab, of presumably hundreds of dollars, when getting an annual vehicle inspection.
This Policy Research Paper from 2008 called Moving Texas To The 21st Century [.pdf] had a good synopsis of the the VMT tax on page 22. Calling it very efficient, somewhat equitable, and very complex.
A VMT charge system is new to the U.S. and likely to be understood as a substitute for motor fuel taxes. VMT charges are very complex to implement and administer. Implementation would take significant investment in administration, education, and new technologies. The most likely path toward nationwide implementation would be through a 20-year effort. VMT charges would be difficult to enforce in border areas.
EOW posted on the VMT tax the last time it came up, over two year ago. It doesn’t appear much has changed. This tax isn’t any closer to being implemented than it was then, the gas tax has still not been raised, and the neglect of our highways in Texas continues.
By all means we should look at this as a possible future solution for funding transportation in Texas, but we can’t let it keep us from doing the work that needs to be done now.
The vehicle miles tax – Off the Kuff said,
January 7, 2010 at 6:31 am
[...] they be more willing to fight for that instead of a gas tax increase? That’s the question. EoW and Come and Take It have [...]