Tennessee lawmakers are considering a change in the way that we are taxed at the pump. Right now, Tennesseans pay a gas tax of 21 cents for each gallon of pumped. This tax has not risen in years and has certainly not kept up with inflation; the Department of Transportation has said that it will face a $2 billion shortfall in the next 10 years. Of course, it would be political suicide to recommend a raise in the gas tax. Some lawmakers are considering enacting a new system where citizens pay based on the amount of miles driven. People would probably be taxed a little over a cent per mile driven. The this would work is a sensor in the car would tell the machine how many miles the car has been driven, and the tax would be added to the gas bill. People with older cars and people out from out of state would end up paying the gas tax instead. Some people, however, are worried that the money would end up going to things other than the transportation funds. When the gas tax was enacted, people were told that all of the money would go towards funding road construction. We all know that this turned out not to be entirely true. I'm not sure if people would be in support of such a change, especially since the state monitors how many miles a person drives. Oh well, Ben Franklin was right in saying "the only sure things in life are death and taxes." (story here)
tagged tennessee, politics
"Sensor in the car" is a violation of privacy. Sensors read at the gas pump will not only report your mileage but also your location and maybe other parameters. You'll never fully know what data is recorded and transmitted and how it is used to profile you. See this website and this one. Also review this car dealer scam news feed to see what crooked car salesmen are doing these days.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me? Really, nothing should surprise me anymore, but this is absolutely insane. Here's a thought...rather than trying to come up with ways to increase revenue, why don't our brilliant lawmakers come up with ways to CUT SPENDING? That's what I have to do around my house; why shouldn't it work the same way in Nashville?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous commenter that this is a blatant violation of privacy. The government has absolutely no business knowing how far I'm driving each week. Besides, I'd probably just drive to Virginia to fill up in order to avoid our nosy gas pumps.