The White House is weighing a variety of ways — including a vehicle mileage tax — to finance what are expected to be multitrillion-dollar infrastructure proposals, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Friday.
Buttigieg, who spoke with CNBC’s Kayla Tausche, also contended that President Joe Biden’s forthcoming plans to rebuild the nation’s roads, bridges and waterways would lead to a net gain for the U.S. taxpayer and not a net outlay.
“When you think about infrastructure, it’s a classic example of the kind of investment that has a return on that investment,” he said. “That’s one of many reasons why we think this is so important. This is a jobs vision as much as it is an infrastructure vision, a climate vision and more.”
He also weighed in on several potential revenue-generating options to fund the project. He spoke fondly of a mileage levy, which would tax travelers based on the distance of the journey instead of on how much gasoline they consume.
“A so-called vehicle-miles-traveled tax or mileage tax, whatever you want to call it, could be a way to do it,” he said.
Democrats have slowly pivoted away from a gasoline tax in favor of a mileage tax amid a simultaneous, climate friendly effort to encourage consumers to drive electric cars.
“I’m hearing a lot of appetite to make sure that there are sustainable funding streams,” the Transportation secretary said. A mileage tax “shows a lot of promise if we believe in that so-called user-pays principle: The idea that part of how we pay for roads is you pay based on how much you drive.”
He added: “You’re hearing a lot of ‘maybe’ here because all of these things need to be balanced and could be part of the mix.”
The Transportation secretary’s comments came as President Joe Biden prepares to detail during a trip to Pittsburgh next week sweeping infrastructure proposals that could cost $3 trillion to $4 trillion.
In the first news conference of his presidency, Biden on Thursday said that rebuilding U.S. physical and technological infrastructure was his next priority, critical not only to efforts to restore the economy, but also to remain competitive with rivals like China.
Buttigieg added Friday that the White House is considering a revival of Build America Bonds, a special class of municipals bonds first introduced in the Obama administration with interest costs financed by the U.S. Treasury.
BUTT GIG
BootyJudge,…. He ought to know.
Just more vengeance on rural Americans who have to drive more miles just to get to work or shop or doctor, whatever just because so many of us don’t buy the ‘narrative’… it’ll be interesting to see if rural non-whites get a break on this….not the Oakland kind, but still… Plus Butt Gig knows not a whole lot of rural Americans buy into his LBGTQ crapola…. Kuddos to Hal for his Butt Gig thing! Great name!
As long as the completely discredited science of Human caused carbon emissions causing global climate change is being used to crush the economic well being of the “lower 99%”? A multiple of carbon emission per mile VAT, Value Added Tax, of carbon emissions per mile of Private Jet and Commercial Jet Travel must be included. If it was enforceable? It would still be Un-Constitutional, so it would never pass a legitimate legal challenge. What are the odds of that? Carbon Dioxide, at ground level is plant food. CO2 in the Stratosphere is harmful to Human health by orders of magnitude compared to ground level emissions. There are no plants in the Stratosphere. This is, literally taxation upon Humans for breathing. I remember when that was considered a joke. Nothing, and I mean nothing is a joke to these sick psychopaths who are attempting to run/ruin the world for Humans.