What happen to all the Fuel taxes?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : I-695 Thirty Dollar License Tab Initiative : One Thread

I came to Washington in the middle of last year at a time when the price of a gallon of regular gasoline was in the region of 1 dollar. Presently the price is in the $1.45 region. This represents a 45% increase in taxes from car fuel sales. This increase represents a $330 increase in fuel per annum for my use. The tax portion of this is well short of the price of my tabs, however I do believe that a gas tax what be much more fair. The larger your vehicle, the more gas it uses - Similarly the larger the impact it has upon the environment. Compare a Ford Expedition to a generous family car like a Taurus or a Camry. If you live in excess you should be willing to pay the excess. I came over from England where the fuel prices would make your wallet bleed, but people are then forced into more economical vehicles while the government pass laws here and there the keep on the squeeze. Its a different lifestyle and more densely populated than Washington of course, but the laws are working, for the wrong reasons. The populous should be encouraged to ride share and use public transport, not brute forced into it - It should be preferable to leave your car at home or a park and ride someplace than to drive. To get to that point we *all* have to pay, and we all can afford differing amounts, and the running costs of our cars are likely to be proportional to that amount. The price of your vehicle does not reflect the running costs, the amount you use it does. So in summary I say flat rate tabs, yes. Be prepared to pay elsewhere, gas tax, yes - As long as the money is directed to the transportation system - and that is the entire system, not just the roads. Eventually the public transportation system would fund itself.

All discussion welcome, Silver --

PS I wanted to post my comments on the no-i-695 but I could find no discussion area. If anyone knows where it is I would be grateful if you forward this there too.

-- Silver Ring (SilverRing@earthlink.net), October 10, 1999

Answers

Duplicate:

I believe the fuel taxes are mostly on a per gallon basis, so if the price per gallon goes up, the revenue from fuel taxes could actually go down as a result of reduced discretionary driving. Does anyone have specific information on this question?

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), October 10, 1999.


"Eventually the public transportation system would fund itself. " When you lose money on every transaction, and when you lose more money on the marginal transaction than you do on the average transaction, it's difficult to see where you are going to make it up in volume. The trends are going the wrong way. The per user cost of transit is on the wrong side of it's price elasticity curve. You can't get there from here. It's like drilling holes in the bottom of your leaky rowboat to let the water drain out. You can attempt it, but you aren't going to have the desired result. And when you are funding the transit user with the non-transit users money, the more successful you are at getting people on transit, the LESS revenue you will have to pay for it.

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), October 10, 1999.

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