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The excuse given by the Governor and state DOT officials is that gas tax revenue has fallen or will fall in response to people's choice of higher fuel efficiency vehicles. At this date, this is only a theoretical possibility. According to the USDOT report, Summary of Fuel Economy Performance (March 2008), the vehicle fleet fuel economy in 2008 is 26.8 mpg. This is virtually unchanged from 26.2 mpg in 1987.

The gas tax may not be a perfect mechanism for collecting revenue, but it's efficient and has very little administrative cost. For reasons others have cited (collecting from out-of-state residents, etc.), the gas tax seems a pretty good way of collecting.

Not enough has been collected in recent years to maintain the street and highway system, but that's because Oregon has failed to increase the tax per gallon since 1993! Our neighbors in Washington have added more than a dime per gallon since then. Is it any wonder their roads are in better shape than ours?

Almost everything has gone up in price in the last 15 years. Check the price of a first class stamp, or the Corps of Engineers' Construction Cost Index, or the price of the cheapest car you can drive on the road.

We've simply not been collecting enough. We must first decide on how much we should collect then do it and spend it on worthwhile projects.

I think the fairest way is to boost the gas tax. People quickly got used to $3.00 per gallon gas and finaly started reducing their driving. Adding five or ten cents per gallon would be unnoticed and would gain sorely needed revenue for critical projects.

A mileage tax would simply add a whole new bureaucracy and reduce any incentive for people to drive more fuel efficient cars.

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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