![]() ![]() The tax could also disadvantage precarious rideshare and delivery workers, especially those who work as independent contractors and therefore will see any new taxes come directly out of their take-home pay. And in urban areas, low-income workers and people of color frequently face a spatial mismatch between where they live and where jobs are located, making their commute times longer and access to public transportation spottier. The former lack robust public transportation and also face long commutes to jobs and even essential services: A 2018 report found that rural communities commute nearly twice as long for hospital services compared to urban communities. Here's HowĪ VMT tax would also be likely to disadvantage rural communities, as well as communities of color generally. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. A similar situation played out over the weekend, when current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made headlines for telling CNBC that a mileage tax “shows a lot of promise,” especially “if we believe in that so-called user-pays principle.” The Biden administration quickly made clear that such a measure was not going to be part of the president’s upcoming $3 trillion infrastructure package, and Buttigieg walked back his comments on Monday. In 2009, then-Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood suggested the Obama administration was considering the measure, but he was rebuked by the White House. In 2006, a Department of Transportation-commissioned report called the idea “the most promising technique for directly assessing road users for the costs of individual trips.” Oregon and Utah have introduced state-level versions of the policy.Īt the federal level, however, policymakers have been more wary about a VMT tax. #Federal vmt tax driver#The idea is simple: Taxing every mile traveled by a given driver is the most precise way to tax the actual use of infrastructure, allowing funding to automatically keep up with the amount of wear and tear. On top of that, with the push for more electric and fuel-efficient vehicles across the U.S., some worry that gas tax revenue will only further diminish, even as the country’s infrastructure needs grow.Įnter the vehicle miles traveled tax, or VMT tax. For one, the tax has stood at 18.3 cents per gallon for nearly 30 years, meaning its value has been undermined by inflation. If America’s crumbling roads are any indication, however, the tax is not generating enough revenue to keep up with infrastructure needs. For decades, federal roadway maintenance and other infrastructure spending has been primarily funded through a national gasoline tax. ![]()
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