I realize that many people are scratching their heads and trying to figure out why in the name of common sense would anyone have a GPS hooked to the body of their auto or motorcycle so the government could see how and where they travelled.
This is just just an idea folks. Settle down, no one is going big brother on the citizens of the U.S. ........ Yet!
Transportation agency: Obama will not pursue mileage tax
http://www.cnn.com/...
But at some point we will need to replace the Federal, State,City and County GASOLINE tax on all those Green Vehicles.
Let's face it, we will not want to drive on unpaved roads or have stop signs intead of traffic lights at every corner. And a heafty tax on use makes sense....doesn't it?
Almost like a tax on luxury items, national parks and water ways.
More of a pay as you go system.
Taxing Issues: How Will the Feds Handle EVs?
When people use the word "tax" and the phrase "electric car" in the same sentence, they’re usually talking about the lucrative tax credits you can grab onto by buying one.
But there’s another way to look at the tax issue. Suppose, as many analysts are now concluding, the bulk of the car fleet shifts from gasoline to electric. Will we tax EV recharges the way we now tax gas (at 18.4 cents a gallon)? Dr. Lyle Dennis, whose website GM-Volt.com champions Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid, asks, "Will they raise taxes on electric rates and make EV recharging more expensive? It’s an important question."
It seems to make more sense to simply switch to a "vehicles miles traveled" tax that’s agnostic on how cars get around. Mileage could be tracked with GPS devices installed in cars. But that’s off the table for now. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said his department was studying the idea, but an Obama spokesman quickly denied it is now or ever will be U.S. policy.
The feds are not going to simply abandon such a lucrative source of revenue, especially since it’s the major source of highway and bridge maintenance. In fact, the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission wants to raise the gas tax by 10 cents a gallon. And it thinks we should consider the VMT tax, too.
http://industry.bnet.com/...
And while the Obama team has it's hands full with an economy on the brink, unemployment and banking crisis all given to us by the Boy Wonder Bush and Fat man Cheney..... we might as well have Obama and Team take a look at ... Overhauling the IRS.
Taxpayer advocate calls for IRS overhaul
Nina Olson heads the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent division within the IRS that is supposed to help taxpayers resolve complaints with the agency when those problems can't be dealt with satisfactorily through normal channels. Each year the Advocate must report on problem areas within the IRS that are in need of improvement. This year's submission--unusually blunt for a government agency--is a taxpayer's delight: "The most serious problem facing taxpayers is the complexity of the Internal Revenue Code. The only meaningful way to reduce these burdens [of compliance] is to simplify the tax code enormously."
Olson didn't go so far as to advocate a flat tax, but anyone who looks at the report can only conclude that we must start over again. As the report states: "Taxpayers who honestly seek to comply with the law often make inadvertent errors, causing them either to overpay their tax or to become subject to IRS enforcement action for mistaken underpayment of tax. [However,] sophisticated taxpayers often find loopholes that enable them to reduce or eliminate their tax liabilities." The Advocate goes on, chronicling the grim realities:
http://www.forbes.com/...
With every decision comes benefits, responsibility and consequence.
In my opinion....the Change will do us all good.