I. Introduction and Background
The gasoline tax has provided revenue for the Federal and State Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for decades; however, the tax rates have remained stagnate leading to the funds depletion. The HTF is responsible for funding highway and mass transit projects and also maintenance of those projects at the Federal and State level. In 2005 around 80 percent of funding for all projects came from the gasoline tax (Kim, Porter, Whitty, Svadlenak Lareson, Capps, Imholt & Person 2008, pg. 37). Thus, it is vital for the HTF to be a revenue collecting system that can replace the gasoline tax.
Oregon has recently begun testing an alternative revenue collection program to fund their HTF. Currently, State gasoline tax is set at 24 cents per-gallon and that is on top of the Federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents, which only, 18.3 cents is used for roads, the total tax equals to 42.4 cents per-gallon (McMullen, Zhang, & Nakahara, 2010, pg. 360) (Austin & Dinan, 2012 pg.2). The gasoline tax has not been raised in years and is unable to keep up with fuel-efficient technologies. Consequently, the Federal government has had to allocate funds to States HTF for projects along with States having to borrow money form their other accounts. Therefore Oregon proposed the 2007 Road User Fee Pilot Program to test if a vehicle mileage traveled (VMT) tax is a feasible solution to the gasoline tax.
Oregon’s propose program is in response to new fuel-efficient vehicles and corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards that have forced the automotive industry to rise miles-per-gallon in new vehicles to help combat climate change. It is estimated that CAFE standards have lower the gasoline tax revenue around twenty percent (Austi...
... middle of paper ...
... Evaluation of Oregon's Vehicle-Miles-Traveled Revenue Collection System." Transportation Research Board 2079: 37-44. Print.
McMullen, Starr, Lei Zhang, and Kyle Nakahara. "Distributional impacts of changing from a gasoline tax to a vehicle-mile tax for light vehicles: A case study of Oregon." Transport Policy 17: 359-366. Print.
Rufolo, Anthony, and Thomas Kimpel. "Responses to Oregon's Experiment in Road Pricing ." Transportation Research Board 2079: 1-7. Print.
Thomas, Michael , and Kevin Heaslip. "Technological Change and the Lowest Common Denominator Problem: an Analysis of Oregon's Vehicle Miles Travelled Fee Experiment ." Journal of City and Town Management 2: 1-23. Web. 6 May 2014.
Whitty, James. "Oregon's Mileage Fee Concept and Road User Fee Pilot Program: Final Report ." Oregon Department of Transportation 1 Nov. 2007: iv-92. Print.
"Economic Analysis of the Car Allowance Rebate System." White House. White House, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .
4 Lynch, T (2004). Florida High Speed Ground Transportation Economic Benefit and Cost Impact Study. Retrieved on April 16, 2005, from http://www.floridabullettrain.com/content/economics.pdf
If we are going to be honest, the roadways for the state have NEVER been free. We have paid both state and federal gas tax for decades, now, and we also pay various taxes and licensing fees on our cars and our right to drive which go directly to the highway department in order to maintain the roads. Unfortunately, as we will soon see, the monies raised in this way cannot keep up with the state transportation departments needs, for a variety of reasons.
15. New Report: Reducing Vehicular Global Warming Pollution Saves California Drivers Money, 2004, Union of Concerned Scientists, 11 May 2004, <http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release.cfm?newsID=391>
I am a husband and a father of four lovely children. We need a large vehicle to haul all of us around town. And of course I would do anything to keep them safe and I always want to provide them with the best. Therefore, after the birth of our fourth child two and a half years ago, my wife and I decided to upgrade our Ford Explorer to a Ford Expedition. We got everything from the side-curtain airbags to the TV and DVD player. What we did not know was we also purchased a rather large unleaded gas bill. The first time we filled the tank it cost us roughly $35; today it costs us right around $75 to fill the tank. Obviously the price of gas has increased significantly in the last two years. The price increase is due to a fluctuation in the supply and demand of not only gasoline but also crude oil, which is needed to manufacture gasoline. In addition, several other factors are influencing a change in the price of gasoline.
Throughout its nearly 60 year history, the Interstate Highway System has served the United States of America far beyond its original goals. From its original purposes of uniting the country and aiding defense to the more mundane, (but equally important)such as ferrying goods across the country, the Interstate Highway System has firmly entrenched itself as one of the greatest feats of engineering the world has ever known. Record setting bridges, tunnels, and length of pavement have all been made by the vast expanse of the IHS FACT. As Dwight D. Eisenhower, then president, stated “Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear -- United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts” (http://todayinsci.com/Events/Transport/HighwayInterstate-Quotations.htm 22 Feb 1955)
A decade of decline. (1993). Managing the federal government. 1-20. Dearborn, P. M. (1993, Summer). Local property taxes: Emerging trends. Internal governmental perspective 10-12 Taylor, A. (1996, May 25). Dole's call for gas tax repeal fails to spark voters Congressional quarterly report: Economics and finance. 1212 --1378. The economics of taxation. (1995, November 2). The economics of taxation. Suanders, L. (1995, June 19). Avoiding the rack Forbes, 13, 208.
On a daily basis, millions of cars are driven by millions of Americans to millions of different places. For most of those millions of people, their cars are their lives and that's all that matter. A second thought is rarely given to the fact that conventional gasoline vehicles are depositing millions of harmful chemical gases into the atmosphere. Many people in America are not aware of what automobile emissions are doing to our environment. If every American knew all the facts about gasoline vehicles, perhaps then they would be motivated and willing to contribute whatever is needed to save the environment from the destruction that gasoline vehicles are causing. Zero-emission vehicles are a new development and are one of the most aggressive approaches toward preventing global warming. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in order to eliminate conventional gasoline vehicles and begin widespread use of zero-emission vehicles. If there were a national fund for the further development of these vehicles, the effort to eliminate gasoline vehicles would advance much faster. That is why a proposal for the federal government to raise the gasoline tax by $1 per gallon in order to fund further research and development of zero-emission vehicles sounds entirely plausible. If nothing more, it would be giant step in the effort to conserve our natural environment.
Did you know that you can receive a maximum of a $7,500 tax credit for just owning an electric or hybrid vehicle? The United States government values citizens that buy fuel efficient vehicles because it gets the United States one step closer to not buying outsourced oil (Jones par.14). Hybrid vehicles are vehicles that are mostly powered by gasoline, but switch over to electric at stop signs or at coasting speeds. Electric cars are cars that are solely powered by electric from start up to shut down (Motavalli par. 6). Most cars and trucks on the road today are powered by gasoline or diesel engines, which are expensive to operate, bad for the environment, and use resources that are non renewable. To achieve better fuel economy, lower operation cost, reduce the pollution on the environment, and operate vehicles with renewable resources, this world needs to take a better look at using alternative fuels to power vehicles. Alternative fuels for motor vehicles are better for the environment, are renewable resource, and are cheaper for consumers.
Mark Bittman’s article, “Taxing Sugar to Fund a city,” emphasizes that on one hand, the taxation of sugar sweetened beverages would be a bonus. On the other hand it could continue to not be supported by the people and government. Taxation of sugar sweetened beverages is being considered in many different places throughout the world. The taxation was becoming a failure everywhere, until it worked for the first time in several cities. Cites such as Northern California, San Francisco, Albany and Richmond. These cities opened up their ideas to this new type of taxation, once those places became supportive many others begin to also be supportive of this new taxation. Philadelphia plans to use the taxes received for the needy, community schools, public parks, recreation centers and libraries. Some cities support using the money this way rather than using the tax for safe free drinking water like in Berkley and Mexico. Taxed products
Off-highway vehicle users tend to view a compromise the same way environmentalists do, but for different reasons.
American demand for petroleum began to grow in the beginning of the twentieth century. The national population was increasing at a rate of five million people per year, global fuel prices were consistent and low, and expansive suburbs were being developed to house the growing urban workforce. These trends greatly encouraged personal vehicle use, and the creation of President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System in 1956 enabled these cities and suburbs to be seamlessly connected. Before the highway’s creation, people were limited in how far they could travel, and more than seventy-five percent of the roads in America were in poor condition. Within the first year of the highway’s construction, however, American’s were buying an average of
With a gasoline-fueled vehicle, buying gas to operate your car is a never-ending process. With the high price change of gasoline and oil, operating a gasoline-fueled vehicle tends to be very costly. While there are some types of small gasoline vehicles that get much better gas mileage than larger vehicles, even the most powerful gasoline cars will normally desire a contribution every month. According to some experts the only way a mainstream market for green vehicles wills materlize is with a pronounced and prolonged rise in fuel prices. (Buss, 4)
"Reduce Oil Dependence Costs." Fuel Economy. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. .
“The Open Fuel Standard Act of 2013 is a Fiscal Policy that if passed would require each fleet of a manufacturer of passenger automobiles (including light-duty motor vehicles) to comprise at least: (1) 30% qualified vehicles in model year 2016, and (2) 50% qualified vehicles in model year 2017 and each subsequent year.” (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr2493#summary) A qualified vehicle would be one that operates on natural gas, hydrogen, biofuels, E85, M85 or electric drive vehicles. This would be a giant step in the right direction if this were to be passed into law and it would have a huge impact on all automakers, especially the truck market.