California plans to tax fuel-efficient cars for not using as much gas.

[theweaselking]

"Drivers will get charged for how many miles they use the roads, and it's as simple as that," says engineer David Kim.

College student Jayson Just commutes an odometer-spinning 2,000 miles a month. As CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports, his monthly gas bill once topped his car payment.

"I was paying about $500 a month," says Just.

So Just bought a fuel efficient hybrid and said goodbye to his gas-guzzling BMW.

And what kind of mileage does he get?

"The EPA estimate is 60 in the city, 51 on the highway," says Just.

And that saves him almost $300 a month in gas. It's great for Just but bad for the roads he's driving on, because he also pays a lot less in gasoline taxes which fund highway projects and road repairs. As more and more hybrids hit the road, cash-strapped states are warning of rough roads ahead.

Officials in car-clogged California are so worried they may be considering a replacement for the gas tax altogether, replacing it with something called "tax by the mile."

Comments

[zenten.livejournal.com]

Um, why don't they just raise the taxes on gas?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Because then gas guzzlers would be more expensive.

Meaning more people would switch to efficient models.

Meaning that you'd be paying the oil companies less money.

Which maens no politician will touch it, with a ten-foot pole, because then allt he rich people who give him money would stop.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

I hate politics.

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not a completely whack idea; cars put wear and tear on the roads no matter how much gas they use. It's not even an unheard-of practice. It usually goes by the name of "toll roads." IMO, the tax should be proportional to vehicle weight, though.

And trust me, CA will never abolish the gas tax. They may add a mileage tax, but they ain't gonna stop taxing gas.

[spartonian.livejournal.com]

I really hope there's a base gas station when I get to Monterrey, CA for grad school.