How intrusive should the government be in our lives? Oregon passing the GPS tracked "mile tax"

1SG Scott MacGregor — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 15:01:19 -0400

Response by 1SG Scott MacGregor made Jul 15 at 2015 3:06 PM

1SG Scott MacGregor — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 15:06:36 -0400

I think the government is to involved with what we do, look at the cell phone tracking fiasco on innocent americans. Sure the smart guy pays less in tax for gas, but they should be the ones paying a special tax for that technology and leave the gas tax in place. If you drive a "dumb" car pay no extra tax but if you opt to buy a "smart" car, then pay an additional tax on that. A pay as you go or drive is unfair. I drive over 60 miles to work every day and drive a Suburban. I would pay gas tax on top of about .90 cents a day to work. That would be penalizing me for where I live and where I work.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2015 3:07 PM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 15:07:02 -0400

Mile tax? So simple traveling now costs even more money? I mean, I know we're broke but really, calm down. We don't need to be wasting our money on more taxes.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jul 15 at 2015 3:08 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 15:08:08 -0400

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/05/20/oregon-gas-tax-mileage/27676973/

The intent of transitioning from one "Taxation Model" to another makes sense, however, the Privacy concerns become astronomical very very quickly.

My running statement is as follows. The Government has proven itself neither trustworthy, nor efficient enough to be given any slack when it comes to Privacy information. I can rattle off a half a dozen instances without trying hard where the government or its agents have failed to safeguard or have directly used our private information for nefarious purposes. As such, limiting its Power should be the default setting.

Oregon preps program to swap mileage tax for gas tax

Oregon is about to embark on a first-in-the-nation program that aims to charge car owners not for the fuel they use, but for the miles they drive.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jul 15 at 2015 3:50 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 15:50:40 -0400

We essentially wanted a solution similar to this by capping taxes and demanding more fuel efficient cars. States then strike back by tax schemes like this. So if GPS is banned, then they'll have you drive into a "certified" place to have your mileage read once a year, then you'll get a bill. Oh, if you don't, I'm sure they'll decide to put license plate scanners in at gas stations to deny you filling up.

So am I in favor? Not really. But when things are half thought out like most voter initiatives are, then expect push back. Most of the public is in denial about the condition of our roads and bridges. In some areas I can't tell the difference between the US and a third world country.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2015 3:50 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 15:50:55 -0400

This actually makes me EXTEREMLY angry. I was born and raised in rural Oregon. 60 miles from the nearest hospital, grocery story, ect... 150+ miles from Portland.- the closest major city. This tax doesn't affect the city people. It effect people that have to drive the miles, the ones that still have to pay for gas because we still have noneconomic cars- because lets face it a Prius doesn't work so well on a wheat farm. Screw you Salem!!!

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Jul 15 at 2015 4:13 PM

LTC Yinon Weiss — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 16:13:44 -0400

This seems like a major privacy invasion. How is it any different than tracking your walking activity through the GPS on your phone, and taxing you for walking in public in the name of paying for sidewalk construction and pedestrian bridges? It's absurd. The long term unintended consequences of government collecting this data is extremely dangerous.

Response by Maj Chris Nelson made Jul 15 at 2015 5:58 PM

Maj Chris Nelson — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 17:58:45 -0400

I can quickly see Law Enforcement getting hands on this data to calculate driving speed and locations to issue citations such as speeding, parking time violations, trespassing, etc......Nothing good will come of this.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2015 8:02 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 20:02:26 -0400

This is insane. A vast amount of date from this will be collected on you. I would rather them just use the on board odometer for tracking mileage. I would never let this into my car. In addition to this it is not difficult to jam an GPS. A solid piece of metal would easily defeat a GPS tracker. There are several other ways to defeat them that are legal. I hope this doesn't come become a law.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2015 10:24 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 10:24:56 -0400

I remember very well when we just had to save the planet by getting vehicles more fuel efficient. Sounds good. I can get behind that.
So tax incentives were placed on hybrids and electric vehicles to get them into the mainstream. People caught on, and the car companies produced more fuel efficient vehicles - partly due to new federal and state laws, but as much from supply and demand.
Some states increased gas taxes to try and get the same effect, sort of like the skyrocketing cigarette taxes.
Then something strange happened. Gas tax revenue plummeted as people bought less fuel. Perversely, the state had legislated their way out of revenue.
A "wheelage tax" notion was born. We just had to make up the lost revenue to maintain roads and build our silly commuter trains and mile after mile of bike trails (this is a sore subject up in Minnesota).
Truth is, when it comes to wear and tear on roads, there is no comparison between a motorcycle, a Prius, a pickup, and a tractor trailer. The difference is huge. Question is, how does the state determine when you're driving on the Interstate versus state highways, county roads, or city streets? Most of us don't do most of our driving on state-maintained roads.

Stop diverting funds to boondoggles like light rail and revenue isn't nearly the crisis some would make it out to be.
Oregon (and others) are discovering one of my favorite topics: the Law of Unintended Consequences.