Would you rather pay-by-mile instead of a Washington gas tax?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The Washington Transportation Commission is expected to vote later this year on a proposal to replace the gas tax with a pay-per-mile system.

The current Washington state gas tax per gallon is 49.4 cents. That’s well-over the federal excise tax of 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel.

With more electric vehicles and hybrids on the roads, the state is concerned the gas tax eventually won’t be enough to keep building and maintaining roads and bridges in the future.

Washington state recently announced hybrid and electric car owners will start paying an annual $75 car tab fee to finance electric car charging stations.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/would-you-rather-pay-by-mile-instead-of-a-washington-gas-tax/ar-AAIPXm7

Speaking personally, no.

[Throck]

1. I feel I spend half my life going backwards.

They'd be mailing me a check.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. How to pay for it then? Fun project...

Say the average car is driven 12,000 miles a year and gets 25 mpg.

12,000/25 = 480 gallons a year.

480 * $.495 = $238 a year, the money the state loses.

Figure out the "gas tax" to come up with, say, 250 bucks a year per EV. And do the same for every other class ov vehicle.

And it may be found that it even costs the state less with more EVs out there. Fuel spills, pollution, repairs on its own vehicles...

[HelpImSurrounded]

3. NO!! This is more anti-environmental BS

Replacing the gas tax with a per-mile tax will put more gas guzzlers on the road

[RainCaster]

6. I agree with you!

I'm also really pissed that my hybrid just got another $75 tax I didn't ask for.

[HelpImSurrounded]

7. I get that

Usually, lower mileage vehicles are heavier vehicles which are harder on the roads so there are multiple advantages to the gas tax. But every vehicle puts wear on the roads - is this not already covered by vehicle registration fees which can be easily rated by weight?

[GP6971]

9. Me too.

I didn't know about the additional $75. And why should us hybrid owners whose vehicle's don't require charging have to foot the bill for EVs?

[Wounded Bear]

4. Yes, but I'm a low mileage driver...

Somehow, we're gonna need to finance our road network, and as cars get more efficient, even gas guzzlers aren't generating the revenue they used to. A per miles tax is also more fair than a flat tax on license tags for electric vehicles.

[House of Roberts]

5. What degrades a road surface, other than weather,

is weight. Any per mile tax should have a multiplying factor based on weight.

[Ron Obvious]

8. No! Terrible idea.

Putting a whole new system in place for assessing taxes is dreadfully inefficient with huge overhead for putting it in place.
Raising gas taxes would encourage shifting to more fuel-efficient vehicles. You can make up the shortfall elsewhere if everyone were to massively shift to electric or hybrids.

[Sewa]

10. Does anyone have a better idea

of how to collect the funds needed to maintain infrastructure