This week, President Joe Biden said his $3.5 billion infrastructure bill will come with absolutely no cost to everyday Americans, but inside the bill is a measure to explore a per mile gas tax for anyone who drives a car. The 2,700 page bill includes a “pilot program for vehicle mileage tax” to “to test the feasibility of a road usage fee.”
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This means that for every mile you driver your vehicle, you could end up paying money to the federal government. The tax, Democrats say is necessary to offset the decrease in tax revenue from the federal gas tax as more people switch to electric vehicles.
The bill includes $125 million to test the new ‘national vehicle miles traveled fee’.
The pilot program will run from 2022 to 2026 and provides $10 million per year for the national pilot program and $75 million per year to state and regional transportation agencies.
It’s uncertain whether or not the miles traveled tax would replace the existing gas tax at this point. If not, drivers of gasoline-powered cars could end up facing a double tax, being charged at the pump and by the federal government when they file their annual income tax return.
The plan also could including technology systems to monitor and track mileage usage, raising privacy concerns. Would the new system monitor the movements of Americans? Also who would pay for the cost of installing the monitoring devices in existing vehicles?