Incoming Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has suggested taxing Americans for the number of miles they drive, a policy he endorsed as a Democratic presidential candidate.
The Biden Administration is actively searching for ways to fund its ambitious $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., acknowledged “privacy concerns” related to implementing a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) system but said it should be considered as a potential replacement for the gas tax.
During Buttigieg’s confirmation hearing in the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Thursday, Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott asked him if he would support increasing the federal gas tax, which is currently charged to drivers in addition to state gas taxes. The federal gas and diesel tax is the primary source of funding for the Federal Highway Trust Fund.
“I think all options need to be on the table, as you know, the [federal] gas tax has not been increased since 1993, and it has never been pegged to inflation, and it’s one of the reasons why the current state of Highway Trust Fund is that there’s more going out than coming in,” Buttigieg replied. “In the long term, we need to bear in mind also that as vehicles become more efficient and as we pursue electrification, sooner or later, there will be questions about whether the gas tax can be effective at all.”
The state of Virginia has started charging a “highway use fee” to drivers with vehicles that the state government deems “fuel-efficient,” including gas and diesel vehicles. The fee varies based on how fuel-efficient the government determines the vehicle to be, and the government can adjust the tax rate as it chooses.
A source in Virginia’s Department of Transportation told Just the News last year that VDOT is studying how to implement a system to tax drivers for the specific number of miles they drive, similar to the one Buttigieg has suggested.
Buttigieg said tying the gas tax to inflation as well as the VMT model would be considered by the Biden Administration.
“A lot has been suggested recently about the idea of vehicle-miles-traveled-based, so if we’re committed to the idea of user-pays, then part of how you might do that would be based on vehicle miles traveled [VMT],” he said. “But that raises, of course, concerns about privacy and there remains some technological questions too. These are examples of some of the things that could be part of the solution, but I know that’s going to have to be a conversation, not only in the administration, but with Congress too.”
Pete(r) Buttlicker can go lick Biden’s butt crack on that idea.
“Now THAT will teach all you rural-remote ‘white supremacists’ to leave your properties surrounded by beauty and wonderful wildlife and move into our stack ‘n packs where we will try to force you and also make you get sick off 5-G and IoT, you ‘deplorable’ serfs!”–Pete Boot-licker (or however you spell his name…)
Watch out for….never mind…you deserve what you will get.
Same guy who rode a boat, a train, a car and even got proposed to man at an airport? Same guy who has a love of transportation stretching back to his youth?
Sounds like an upstanding fag to me.
All these criminals do is sit around all day and dream up new ways to eat out our sustenance.
What? Are we in Japan or something? This is what they do there.
Crazy Joe and his Commie Cabinet members need to be kicked out of the White House ASAP!
Next, tax on number of times you take a dump, called the “fat tax”.