I would oppose a per mile tax, admittedly out of self interest: it would penalize those who, through no fault of their own, have no practical choice but to live a long distance from their workplace. Billionaires who live in Bel-Air and work in Hollywood would pay almost nothing, whereas the middle class who have to live out in the Inland Empire and rack up 30-40K miles a year commuting, because housing costs are too high closer to their workplaces, would bear the brunt of taxation for road maintenance.
Taxing gasoline is justified by politicians with the claim that the money is needed to mitigate the environmental damage that tailpipe emissions cause. That money isn't predicated or ringfenced for road maintenance: in the vast majority of states that impose a gas tax, the money goes straight into the state's general fund. In many states, California included, a tiny fraction of the money raised in gas taxes actually goes to road construction and maintenance. A chunk of it is currently being spent on the high speed railroad between Bakersfield and Fresno.
The honest response to the conversion from gas to electric vehicles is to fund all highway infrastructure construction and maintenance from general taxation (income, sales, capital gains, etc.), and stop pretending that gas taxes were in any way ringfenced for that purpose. Everyone needs that highway infrastructure to support their lives, including those who don't own a car and have never learned to drive. The food they buy at the supermarket gets there in a big rig, etc. etc. If the politicians truly believe that EVs are a solution to the pollution problem, then there is no justification for a specific "sin tax" on their use.
Taxing gasoline is justified by politicians with the claim that the money is needed to mitigate the environmental damage that tailpipe emissions cause. That money isn't predicated or ringfenced for road maintenance: in the vast majority of states that impose a gas tax, the money goes straight into the state's general fund. In many states, California included, a tiny fraction of the money raised in gas taxes actually goes to road construction and maintenance. A chunk of it is currently being spent on the high speed railroad between Bakersfield and Fresno.
The honest response to the conversion from gas to electric vehicles is to fund all highway infrastructure construction and maintenance from general taxation (income, sales, capital gains, etc.), and stop pretending that gas taxes were in any way ringfenced for that purpose. Everyone needs that highway infrastructure to support their lives, including those who don't own a car and have never learned to drive. The food they buy at the supermarket gets there in a big rig, etc. etc. If the politicians truly believe that EVs are a solution to the pollution problem, then there is no justification for a specific "sin tax" on their use.
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