Mile By Mile

California is desperate for more tax dollars:

The new way of collecting road taxes will reportedly replace the state’s exorbitant gas taxes. At 51 cents per gallon, California has the second highest gas taxes in the nation, according to the financial website Motley Fool. Only Pennsylvania’s, with a 56-cent-per-gallon tax, is higher. One reason for considering the new tax scheme is actually a logical one. As more people begin using hybrids or electric vehicles, states will see their haul from gasoline taxes go down. And as most states use their gas taxes for road maintenance and upkeep, that poses a problem. Where, they wonder, will the taxes needed to maintain roads come from if no one is buying gasoline anymore? Granted, this dilemma is still a bit far off in the future. The latest numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that the total number of hybrids and electric vehicles made up 16 percent of light-duty vehicle sales in 2023. Still, 16 percent is not a small number. And all those drivers are paying less, or even no gasoline taxes. So, at least on this level, you can’t blame states for looking for new ways to tax drivers to maintain the roads. The Vehicle Miles Traveled tax is the hot new money grab.

They have many miles to go before they stop...