U.S. Illinois proposes per-mile driving tax Illinois motorists may soon be the victims of their own good behavior. Drivers in the Land of Lincoln have been improving their fuel efficiency and driving more hybrid and electric cars that lessen their reliance on gasoline. As a result, the state revenue from gasoline tax is falling. With more than $2 billion in summer construction projects planned, state legislators are scrambling to find a way to pay for the road repairs. One prominent state senator proposes scrapping a tax on gas for state residents and replacing it by taxing drivers based on the distance they drive. Residents would pay 1.5 cents per mile driven under a proposal made by State Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago).
I don't think Illinois is the only state considering this. From what I've heard, it seems many are looking at it as a new revenue source. Of course, the revenue source we all want, which would be cutting waste, isn't going to happen since those making the laws and their puppetmasters have vested interests in keeping that money flowing.
That's been proposed in Maine too, although it didn't get through committee. That's the way things start though. Next time, it might come up for a vote and lose. At a later date, particularly if other states start enacting it, the darned thing will pass.
Speaking of things like this, there's been controversy here for years (and I believe in other states, such as NY and MA, at least, if not others as well) about paying for toll roads that once paid off, should be free, yet aren't. It seems tricky wording is used to push the projects through, with people thinking that ultimately they will be able to use the roads without paying tolls, and that congestion will be decreased. In fact, the tolls are quite expensive when taken in total, which is probably another reason agencies controlling the tollways push EZ Tags, so paying the tolls is removed from the every day commutes, and the costs are less noticeable.
The Indiana Toll Road, in the northern part of the state, provides east-west roadway between Illinois and Ohio. It was built when I was a kid, and we used a portion of it getting from Chicago to LaPorte, IN, area when I was a kid. Tolls were very reasonable. It presented to us a new and thrilling type of highway, safer, wide median strip between two sets of double lanes, much lower possibility of a "head-on". Fenced on both sides to exclude small animals and people, limited access and egress. It DID pay for itself. And it's 10-inch thick concrete paving DID yield to the enormous onslaught of 30-ton trucks pounding it day in and day out. So, we were told, the toll structure would remain in effect, to pay for maintenance and repair. The problem with cancelling toll fees is that nothing withstands forever, highways included. OTOH, magnificent highways have been built using traditional financing means: Propose the project, float a Municipal Bond Issue, sell the bonds to investors, build the road, using revenue generated by bond sales, use Motor Vehicle Taxes and General Fund to pay the bond dividends. The most asinine thing I have seen about road-building happened in Phoenix, while we lived there. The "leg" of I-10 remaining incomplete between West Phoenix and it's connect with I-17 was funded by increasing SALES TAX in the state! This placed the burden of paying for a highway on the unsuspecting buyer of his everyday needs. Absurd and ridiculous as it sounds, it PASSED! Then, the Reagan Recession SQUELCHED general spending with the result that sales taxes fell BELOW their ability to pay for a half-completed highway! Eventually, it was finished. Including a ridiculous stretch underground in mid-Phoenix, within a tunnel, the operation of which requires giant ventilation fans running 24/7 to maintain breathable air while passing through it, a distance of perhaps 1/2 mile (guessing).
Yes, definitely roads need upkeep, but it often seems that taxes and fees are set in place for that type of purpose, then siphoned off for pet projects. The 'Big Dig' in Boston went on for ages, and was supposed to be an amazing creation, only to find once it was finally completed, that at least some of the work had been shoddy, with subpar components, and of course many hands were greased along the way. It seems wherever there's money to be made, there's corruption. The greater the chance of profit, and greater the level of corruption.