CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS SH*T?!!!!

[DRTYFN]

I'm about ready to blow a gasket!!!!
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in674120.shtml
States Mull Taxing Drivers By Mile


CORVALLIS, Ore., Feb. 14, 2005

Taxing By The Mile


"Drivers will get charged for how many miles they use the roads, and it's as simple as that."
David Kim,
engineer


(CBS)*College student Jayson Just commutes an odometer-spinning 2,000 miles a month. As CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports, his monthly gas bill once topped his car payment.

"I was paying about $500 a month," says Just.

So Just bought a fuel efficient hybrid and said goodbye to his gas-guzzling BMW.

And what kind of mileage does he get?

"The EPA estimate is 60 in the city, 51 on the highway," says Just.

And that saves him almost $300 a month in gas. It's great for Just but bad for the roads he's driving on, because he also pays a lot less in gasoline taxes which fund highway projects and road repairs. As more and more hybrids hit the road, cash-strapped states are warning of rough roads ahead.

Officials in car-clogged California are so worried they may be considering a replacement for the gas tax altogether, replacing it with something called "tax by the mile."

Seeing tax dollars dwindling, neighboring Oregon has already started road testing the idea.

"Drivers will get charged for how many miles they use the roads, and it's as simple as that," says engineer David Kim.

Kim and his team at Oregon State University equipped a test car with a global positioning device to keep track of its mileage. Eventually, every car would need one.

"So, if you drive 10 miles you will pay a certain fee which will be, let's say, one tenth of what someone pays if they drive 100 miles," says Kim.

The new tax would be charged each time you fill up. A computer inside the gas pump would communicate with your car's odometer to calculate how much you owe.

The system could also track how often you drive during rush hour and charge higher fees to discourage peak use. That's an idea that could break the bottleneck on California's freeways.

"We're getting a lot of interest from other states," says Jim Whitty of the Oregon Department of Transportation. "They're watching what we're doing.

"Transportation officials across the country are concerned about what's going to happen with the gas tax revenues."

Privacy advocates say it's more like big brother riding on your bumper, not to mention a disincentive to buy fuel-efficient cars.

"It's not fair for people like me who have to commute, and we don't have any choice but take the freeways," says Just. "We shouldn't have to be taxed."

But tax-by-mile advocates say it may be the only way to ensure that fuel efficiency doesn't prevent smooth sailing down the road.

[devilsfan]

This will never pass. At least not under the current administration - it's double taxation. We're already paying taxes to use, construct and repair the roads.

There is going to have to be a loophole for non-paved roads that are not government funded or supported. You can't tax private roadways....which means, like Ric says, it'll be a good time to own an H2. I can easily arrange for 99% of my driving to be on non-paved highways if this law goes into effect.

Stacy

[JohnB.GWU.]

and if you go the toggle swith route, remember to pay the exact amount of mileage in gas you "toggled off" so that big brother doesnt supoena your gas credit card statement and screw you come tax season if they ever audit you.

[RIC-H0]

That means the those of us that offroad, will pay close to nothing. Gas will be basically tax free while we are wheeling!
Finally, something in the offroad enthusiasts favor!
I agree that that tax would suck, especially in Texas, where you travel forever to get to the next town, and where half a long distance road trip is spent reaching the border!

I guess we need to have a talk with W. about exempting Texas from that tax bill!

Ric-H2

[4churchill]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by timgco:
Dennis, I hope you have an extra room. I'm moving to Canada if they pass that BS tax. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

oh boy robert redford junior has just arrived.....although it could happen, the way our government works it would take years to getthis program off the ground, and imagine the dissent if we had to retrofit our cars with devices tha WE have to pay for, for the first time in my life i think i'd actually WANT to sic the ACLU on them

[DRTYFN]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by H2 Rocks:
What a sore subject! You're fired Drty!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

HEY!!! I'd run for office and fix it but my closet(no homo jokes needed- ya bastiches) is chocked full of skeletons and womanizing.

[Albie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spike:
Everytime you turn around these cocksuckers have their hand in your pocket. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Who said you had to be married to get F**ked out of your money!!!!!!!!!!