× Expand David Michael Miller

Here’s something I bet you didn’t know. Starting next October, you’ll be paying $28 more to register each of your vehicles in Dane County.

Last month the Dane County Board quietly approved a new local vehicle registration fee, commonly known as a wheel tax. It takes effect Oct. 1, 2018, and is projected to raise about $2 million next year and $11 million in 2019, when it will be in place for the entire year. Under state law, all the money needs to go to fix up county roads.

It’s startling that this new tax went into effect with the scantest of press attention and, likely because of that, virtually no public opposition. The final vote was 27-6.

But in one of the rare news stories about it, in the Sun Prairie Star, of all places, Supv. Dave Ripp of rural Waunakee offered a curious reason for voting against it. “This very regressive tax burden falls heaviest on rural residents,” Ripp said. He claimed that people living in some of the county’s urban areas have access to bus service, never mind that most people who ride a bus also own a car.

But Ripp is wrong. This is actually a big subsidy from Madison residents to those who live in rural areas. That’s because the county spends most of its road money outside of incorporated jurisdictions. So, while Madison drivers will likely produce about half the revenue, almost all of that will be spent outside the city. Of course, Madisonians still drive on some of those roads but not nearly as much as they travel on city streets.

In addition, because city residents tend to drive fewer miles just by the nature of living in a compact area, a flat fee like the wheel tax will tend to fall more heavily on those who drive less. If you live in the city and drive fewer miles, you still pay the same as someone who lives in a rural area and drives more.

To add insult to injury, the legislature just adopted another add-on registration fee of $100 for electric vehicles and $75 for hybrids. So, if you live in Madison to cut down on the miles you drive and drive a hybrid to boot, congratulations, your annual vehicle registration fee will be $103 more on top of the basic state $75 registration fee. If you live just outside of Dane County and drive your F-150 into the city to work every day, you’ll pay $103 less for your vehicle registration than the Prius-driving Madisonian.

I don’t blame the county executive and county supervisors for passing a wheel tax. With the legislature not stepping up to fund deteriorating roads, more local governments are taking advantage of one of the few alternatives they have. But the equitable answer is a higher gas tax or, better yet, a fee on each vehicle mile travelled. Let the market work so that those who drive more pay more. The current system is penalizing those of us who cause the least wear and tear on our roads and spew the fewest greenhouse gas and other pollutants into our air.