Kiplinger 4/2/21 ... Most Washington politicians agree that the gas tax is not
cutting it. But they can’t stomach hiking it, and aren’t sure of the road
forward. The Highway Trust Fund, which is used to pay for road and transit
programs, gets money from the federal fuel tax…18.3 cents per gallon on
gasoline and 24.3 cents for diesel, the same since 1993. It’s sorely
underfunded and getting worse as cars get more fuel-efficient and electric
vehicles proliferate. A vehicle-miles-traveled tax will continue to get chatter
in Washington. Vehicles would be charged a penny or two for each mile driven,
monitored by onboard meters, mobile phones, odometer checkpoints or some other
way. But Congress is likely several years away from even considering a VMT,
leaving federal politicians searching for alternatives to plug funding gaps.
Meanwhile, expect more states to mull a VMT. For example, Ore. and Utah have
launched comprehensive pilot programs. Other states will likely follow suit.
