1/6/09-A year after a report in Oregon said a tax system based on miles driven could one day replace per-gallon fuel taxes at the pump, Gov. Ted Kulongoski released a budget proposal for 2009 that calls for a mileage tax on many vehicles.
As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the session, which convenes Monday, Jan. 12, the governor said he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.”
Kulongoski said changes are needed because people are driving less, they are using more fuel-efficient vehicles, and the fuel tax doesn’t go as far as it used to. He said those reasons are enough to come up with an alternative method to pay for transportation work.
To work toward that goal, Kulongoski wants the task force that studied and tested the idea of a mileage tax two years ago to continue their work. The pilot program equipped about 300 passenger vehicles and split them into three groups – one that paid a rate of 1.2 cents per mile driven and did not pay by the gallon; one that commuted in rush-hour traffic and paid 10 cents per mile and not by the gallon; and, a control group that paid taxes by the gallon purchased under the current method.
They found that the participants were receptive to the experience.
The program would not affect truckers in Oregon, because they already pay on a system of mileage and weight and not by the number of gallons they consume.
Advocates for the mileage-based tax system acknowledge that any change is probably years away. The pilot program determined that manufacturers would need to install the technology in new vehicles because retrofitting vehicles would be too expensive. Older vehicles would continue to pay fuel taxes.
Critics say the program that uses global positioning satellite devices could allow the government to track the movement of drivers. However, advocates say the ODOT experiment showed that transmission of vehicle locations is not required.