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The proposed per-mile tax appears to be a solution looking for a problem to solve.

Sometimes the simple thing is the best. Like the current fuel tax: if you use more fuel it is likely that you drive more miles or drive a heavier vehicle or both. Therefore, you should pay more tax toward highway construction and maintenance. If some people drive fewer miles or drive lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles, they pay less tax. It's simple.

Is it possible that someday the state's fuel tax could not generate sufficient funds for road maintenance? Sure. What then? Raise the tax a nickel or a dime, whatever it takes to get the job done. Do it now. I'll gladly pay, as I do each time I fill my tank. Anytime I want to pay less tax, I can choose to drive fewer miles or get a more fuel-efficient vehicle (or both).

So what if some people get off paying less or even zero. To devise a complex, expensive way of taxing motorists, when a simple, inexpensive way exists is unnecessary and maybe just plain stupid.

By the way, I listened to the Paying Per Mile show (01/05/09) while driving from Bend to Glide (east of Roseburg) through some of the worst winter road conditions I have ever encountered. For the cost of implementing and operating the proposed per-mile tax system, how many more trips could snow plows and sanders be making each winter over Oregon's sometimes treacherous highways?

posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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