A road less travelled
Our gubmint is worried.
They wanted us to drive cars that were more fuel efficient and had lower emissions. So they introduced taxes to “nudge” us in the right [i.e. their] direction.
So people went out and bought cars that were more fuel efficient and had lower emissions and the revenue from their sin taxes diminished.
You would think the gubmint would be delighted at the success of their little scheme, but they’re not. Having achieved their aim they are now facing a loss in revenue, and this is really what the whole “sin tax” thing is about – money. Sin taxes are by their own definition self defeating. As people are “nudged” towards the gubmint’s ideal, so the taxes produce less revenue and the one thing a gubmint cannot endure is any loss in taxes. So they have to invent new ways of making up that lost cash cow.
They now are talking about taxing distance travelled rather than taxing fuel. For a start, you can be assured that there wouldn’t be a decrease in taxes on fuel, just an additional tax on distance travelled.
I’m not quite sure how they are supposed to work this. Will it be mandatory for every vehicle to have a gubmint issued tachometer? Or will they employ hundreds of inspectors who will go around checking each car to tot up the miles travelled since the last inspection?
Of course, there is a little paradox here. Suppose there are two cars. One does 40mpg and the other does 50mpg. The more efficient car will end up paying 25% more tax than the less efficient one? In practice of course it makes no difference – both drivers will be fleeced anyway.
I wonder if a time will ever come when a gubmint decides that instead of inventing new taxes, that it might be easier on the tax payer to just cut down on expenditure?
We can but dream.
Some similarity to something that occurred in the UK in the early ’70s .Relying purely on memory here .The Labour government decided that it was going to abolish the hated Road Fund tax and in order to do this they were going to recoup the money lost by increasing the tax on petrol .A sensible and fair arrangement surely nobody could argue with that ?The more miles you traveled the more tax you paid the driver of an efficient car paid less than the driver of a ‘gas guzzler’ . The petrol tax was increased severely (double digit percentage)Strangely neither they nor any later government ever got around to abolishing the Road Fund tax .Quelle surprise !
Our crowd tried the same here at around the same time. Car tax was to be abolished and replaced with a “Road Fund Licence” at a flat rate of £10 per car. Tax on petrol shot up to compensate. Tax on petrol is still there, but the Road Fund Licence [now unashamedly called Car Tax] now runs into the hundreds. What’s worse, I pay a premium on my tax solely because my car is over a certain age [pre 2009, I think].
Gubmint Speedometers have been a reality here since the 70’s. There was once a movement to tax us on the mileage we drive and since then speedometers have been sealed units that cannot be changed nor replaced. To replace a speedometer takes tons of paperwork and gubmint hoops to jump through that it becomes not worth it because it is so expensive. Lucky for us the whole idea to tax us on our mileage has since died a well deserved death.
If I remember correctly, there was a suggestion by the EU that all cars be fitted with a location device that would supposedly automatically call the emergency services in the event of an accident. On the face of it, I could imagine a lot of people would go for the idea, but installing a device that can be centrally monitored just means that they can track every movement of the vehicle. I see it as being just as invasive as tapping a phone or reading every email [which they can do now anyway].
I remember when General Motors introduced OnStar using the same reasons. “We’ll be able to locate you in an accident”. Ha! In 1999 a friend in Ohio bought a new chevy truck with OnStar and was driving to Quantico, Va when he got lost. He thought why not try OnStar and see if they can give me directions. He pressed the OnStar button and it replied with, “Hello Mr. Smith. The directions to Quantico, Va are as follows…”. When he got to the motel we were all staying at he was so proud of his OnStar getting him there on time until someone pointed out, A) How did they know where you were? and B)How did they know you were going to Quantico? The answer is easy. OnStar is a satnav and a listening device.
It’s already here, by stealth of course you not a short step to the gubmint demanding access. You’re better off buying an older car and remaining relatively undetected.
… and then get penalised with heavier taxes for no other reason than the car is old!
And soon we’ll be taxed on sheets of bogroll used: with a Madras or Vindaloo compulsory at least twice a week. The gubmints of the world will themselves pay way more than average, considering the amount of utter shite they spout 24/7.
I’m surprised that the Greens aren’t demanding a tax on human flatulence.