Netherlands The Latest To Propose Mileage Tax That Requires GPS For Tracking Driving
from the what's-wrong-with-the-gas-tax? dept
Matthew Cruse alerts us to the news that the Netherlands is the latest in a long line of governments that are considering a "mileage tax" that would require drivers to have GPS devices that track how far they drive, and then tax you for every mile driven. Various US states, including Oregon, California and Massachussetts have toyed with such ideas, and while some in Congress have pushed for it on a national scale, the Obama administration has come out against the idea.There are lots of problems with the idea, including the privacy implications of the government collecting data on your driving habits. Plus, the massive expense of equipping cars with such devices should not be underestimated. But, the biggest question of all is why such a thing is needed at all. We already have taxes on fuel, which approximates the same thing (the more you drive, the more you pay) which doesn't have the same expense or privacy implications and has the added benefit that it helps encourage more fuel efficient driving. The idea to do a GPS-based mileage tax seems like one of those things that politicians come up with because they want more money, and they get infatuated with some new technology, without thinking through the implications (at all).
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: driving, gps, mileage tax, netherlands
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
(Full Disclosure: I live in Oregon) Of course I thought it was a bad idea then too.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
They want to stop the gas tax because they anticipate more vehicle that don't use gas, or not as much of it. That's actually a good point -- electric vehicles still wear on the roads, and road repair still has to be paid for.
Personally, I'd prefer that they increase vehicle registration fees instead of spying on us. Or alter the "gas tax" to be a "transportation energy tax" and tax electric charging stations, charging equipment, vehicle batteries, or some combination of the those.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
No, that is too complicated, we should add an expensive GPS unit that tracks every place you've been, not just the miles you've traveled.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Since fuel prices are high, efficient driving had to happen, sooner or later. It's not a tax or environmental thing. It's money, or the lack there of. The same for governments. Since people use less fuel, they have to think of other ways for the population to "pay up".
On privacy, I'm wondering if the this is a good thing speech as in "we-found-the-people-responsible-for-doing-these-horrible-things-because-of-the-GPS-installed-in-the -car", etc. followed buy the "honest-people-have-nothing-to-hide" speech.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
this is perfect .....
They also need it for automatic collision detection so we can't avoid settling fenderbenders without automatic claims.
And the various police department need this data to automatically generate speeding tickets. (who needs radar when you have GPS)
Advertising billboard companies need this data to tailor their electronic ads to your driving habits.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Governments want another tax on top of the gas tax. There no law against duplicative taxes.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
electric cars
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: electric cars
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: electric cars
.
The best solution is still the odometer. It accurately measures the distance traveled by the vehicle. That is the burden the vehicle placed on the roadways and what any tax on it's 'usage' should be based on. Variability by vehicle type is reasonable to account for different vehicle sizes.
.
The use of 'fuel' to determine the 'cost' means that a tractor trailer powered by my own solar panels at home would pay zero tax while having a large impact on the roadway. Tax the usage not the 'efficiency' of the vehicle.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
oops
No matter the fuel source or efficiency, wear and tear on a road is related more to the size of the vehicle than the distance it travels. Motorcycle versus MegaSUV eh? So a road tax based on distance traveled by class of vehicle makes more sense than fuel consumed IF you want to use the tax to maintain the roads.
Not that I'm in favor of a real GPS added to any of my vehicles! I'd be okay with "them" adding something that only calculates distance traveled and simply can't track or report any other info (where, when, how fast), but everyone knows you can't trust "them".
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: oops
A fuel tax does the same thing. A truck gets 25 MPG. therefore every 25 miles it travels it pays 50 cents in taxes. A motorcycle burns 50 MPG therefore it pays half the taxes. Not perfectly equitable, but close. Also, Interstate truckers pay special fees based on vehicle weight and load weight, and these fees are supposed to go to the upkeep of roads, the problem is that these funds get raided every time the state needs extra money, like a lot of other special funds.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: oops
Tax based on the usage of the vehicle and the impact it has (size).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
GPS based tax assessment
The only way to do this is to ether have toll booths installed (photo of plates would then ensue, not as big a privacy concern, but some), or to track vehicle location.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
fine-grained taxes
It also allows them to favor classes of vehicles, like government vehicles, disabled drivers, motorcycles, etc.
You can't do all this fine-tuned nannying with a simple gas tax.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Good Idea
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Netherlands The Latest To Propose Mileage Tax That Requires GPS For Tracking Driving
Live Free Or Die Trying. ;)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
every diesel powered car also has this. unless they changed it since i last looked or remember.
meanwhile, there's no tax on the diesel. [well, aside from the basic GST, which is a consumer/sales tax.]
petrol, on the other hand, is taxed. or was it that there's a levy on it? [which is exactly the same thing, but specifies what it is to be used for and looks slightly less dodgy when they then charge you GST on what is effectively the Petrol Tax.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Of course the government could also eliminate the tax on house sales thereby making it more attractive to move closer to where you work.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
But wait...
If you use GPS then I'll be taxed fairly. I'll get to pay an equally high tax on each vehicle.
That's not really an incentive to buy an economical "green" vehicle.
The problem is really that tax revenues from fuel sales are perceived to go down when more hybrids and fully electric cars (no tax there!) are driven.
I think this is coming whether we like it or not as we transition to differently powered vehicles.
They could just use the odometer. Sure it can be "spoofed" but don't you bet the GPS can be jammed? Also it doesn't really work well in all cases so is unreliable. Just have some radio reporting of self reporting of the odometer.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: But wait...
Actually, I think this is fair. Gas taxes are supposed to fund road maintenance. Heavy vehicles such as trucks cause more damage to the road than lighter vehicles such as cars, and so cost the public more money. It seems fair that they should pay more towards that cost.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Whenever "tax" and "fair" appear in the same sentence I know I should stop reading, but I just can't. The only way your argument makes sense is if your vehicles have a god-given right to incur the same amount of tax. They don't.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
read it again keeping that in mind. [or not, given that this is now an old post :D]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]