Gas Tax vs Mileage Tax

Columnist Duncan Black wrote an opinionated article entitled "Increase the Gas Tax" in USA Today on October 17, 2012 supporting the raising of the federal gas tax, in lieu of a new proposed tax based on vehicle miles traveled (VMT tax), to increase funding for our transportation system.

His audience is clear, anyone who owns a vehicle in America, and his arguments even more clear. Black raises a number of arguments supporting and justifying an increase in the federal gas tax as the best and most simple, obvious solution in response to a need for more funding for our transportation system.

His first argument is that the federal gas tax rate, which is currently 18.4 cent per gallon, has been at the same rate since 1993 and there have been no adjustments for inflation. While gas is expensive today, and many Americans spend a large portion of their incomes on gas, it's only fair that funding for the roads on which people drive come from those affected by the problem. It's not fair, for instance, to increase income taxes to satisfy this need because not everyone who pays an income tax necessarily drives a car. Gas being too expensive can't be the end all argument against an increase in the gas tax. At the very least the 18.4 cent per gallon rate should be raised for inflation.

In order to implement this new VMT tax a new method of collections and enforcement would have to be created. Part of this would include a tracking device in every vehicle which a lot of people would be strongly against. Even if people were to record their miles traveled and file them much like taxes, this would be an extra burden on both drivers and on those who would have to monitor for fraud.

Furthermore, the creation and implementation of a VMT tax would discourage travel and hinder the American dream of a freedom to travel the open roads. By increasing revenue through the existing federal gas tax those with fuel efficient cars would be rewarded for their energy-saving efforts.

Finally, with all the counteracting bureaucracies already in the federal government why not stick with the simple tax plan already in place to collect revenue for the transportation system, rather than having to create a whole new way of collecting taxes, one that could potentially pry even more into our personal lives by ways of a GPS tracking device.

At first glance I strongly disagreed with Black but the arguments he proposes and the evidence by which he justifies his claims have caused me to reevaluate my position. The fact of the matter is that the transportation system is lacking the funding it needs and the federal gas tax is the most direct and fair manner by which to increase that revenue, especially since it hasn't been increased in almost 10 years.

The logic presented in the article calls for a simple solution versus a complicated one that endorses and fuels big government. A means by which to collect tax for the transportation system is in place and the federal gas tax should be increased to supply the necessary revenue to the transportation system.