I didn't catch who made the original post, but I'm baffled by the choice of subject line referring to "progressive taxation" for a regressive tax that treats all odometer miles (except for those of Illinoisans and others out of state) as equivalent, regardless of the efficiency of the MV, regardless of the weight of the vehicle, regardless of time of day, and more. If you were to make an analogy to other types of taxation, this kind of proposal would be more like the sales tax than the income tax.
At least the motor fuel tax does a somewhat reasonable job of capturing part of the differences in social burden--the bigger and/or less efficient the vehicle and the more you use it, the more you pay. That's what's really important. A mile isn't a mile isn't a mile in terms of impact. What's important is what you're driving for that mile, how much fossil fuel you are using for that mile, what time you are driving that mile, where you are driving that mile.... (I say "somewhat reasonable" because the motor fuel tax addresses the efficiency and vehicle size, but not the when and where that is reflected in road building demand.) [And this isn't entirely a self-interested opinion. I don't drive a compact car (but neither do I drive a van, truck, or SubUrban assault Vehicle) and I am not obsessively stingy about the number of miles I drive (but still far lower average annual miles than the previous owner of either my previous or current vehicle, and below the state average).] Now go have a lunch! -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://link.mail2web.com/mail2web _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
