10-12-2020, 07:02 PM
America was founded on a revolution against "taxation without representation". Paying road taxes on non-road applications is a textbook example which also reflects the prevailing government belief that "someone might game the system" (eg, hauling gas cans to refill your vehicle, thus "evading" the fuel tax).
Road wear is the fourth order of weight. A truly equitable "road usage" charge would be based on weight; this "adjustment" will come later, after we've all acquiesced to the tracking devices.
The tracking devices are completely unnecessary on an island, where you can't drive into a different tax jurisdiction.
Biggest unanswered question: how much will it cost to create a new tax authority, new data collection mechanism, etc. Existing staff can't be repurposed because there will still be per-gallon gasoline tax (both during the transition and forever after to support non-road uses) and per-gallon diesel tax (forever, because freight trucking isn't part of the road usage program).
TL;DR: The Road Usage Charge Is A Scam.
Road wear is the fourth order of weight. A truly equitable "road usage" charge would be based on weight; this "adjustment" will come later, after we've all acquiesced to the tracking devices.
The tracking devices are completely unnecessary on an island, where you can't drive into a different tax jurisdiction.
Biggest unanswered question: how much will it cost to create a new tax authority, new data collection mechanism, etc. Existing staff can't be repurposed because there will still be per-gallon gasoline tax (both during the transition and forever after to support non-road uses) and per-gallon diesel tax (forever, because freight trucking isn't part of the road usage program).
TL;DR: The Road Usage Charge Is A Scam.