Oregon's OReGO Program Gives Drivers An Option: Pay Gas Tax Or Pay By The Mile - The Car Connection
Beginning July 1, up to 5,000 volunteers will have the option of paying a 1. 5-cents-per-mile tax instead of Oregon's 30-cents-per gallon gas tax. The device isn't too different from the ones used by insurance companies like Progressive : it plugs into the onboard diagnostics port below the dashboard and tracks miles traveled as well as fuel added. For simplicity's sake, OReGO participants will continue to pay gas tax when they fill up, but at the end of each month, their mileage will be tallied to see how their 1. 5-cent travel tax compares to the taxes they paid on gasoline. If, on the other hand, their mileage tax works out to be higher than what they paid in gas taxes, they'll be sent a bill. It's abundantly clear that the U. S. transportation infrastructure is fragile, and that's not just because the gas tax hasn't risen in 22 years. It's also due to the fact that our cars are increasingly fuel-efficient, so we're using less gas and thus generating fewer gas-tax dollars. Add to that the fact that Americans are driving fewer miles these days , and you've got a Michael Bay-sized recipe for infrastructure disaster. No doubt, it'll provide important data on the number of miles that Oregonians travel, but since it's a voluntary program -- at least for now -- it would seem that people who end up paying more for the per-mile tax will simply drop out of. Source: www.thecarconnection.com
