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RALEIGH, N.C. — Big changes could be just down the road for North Carolina drivers as they could be charged by the mile, instead of at the gas pump.

North Carolina Department of Transportation board members will hear a presentation Wednesday on a proposal to tax people based on the number of miles they drive.

The proposal would be to charge .5-cents-per-mile for cars, which would generate almost $500 million in annual state revenue.

At issue are falling state gas tax revenues in part because of more fuel-efficient cars requiring less gas. North Carolina drivers currently pay one of the highest gas taxes in the nation.

Some state leaders say the more drivers use their car, the more they should pay, because more cars rolling cause more wear and tear on the state’s roads.

“There are a lot of potholes, and to raise more taxes could be beneficial ,but at the same time we are already paying so many taxes for so many other things we don’t exactly know where that money goes,” commuter Katherine Gerstel said.

North Carolina’s Board of Transportation Funding Committee will hear more about the proposal during a meeting Wednesday.

The Chief Deputy Secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Transportation has emphasized that state leaders are just reviewing options to raise more revenues to cover escalating costs for road construction, repairs and expansion with a growing population.

Bill Heckstall, who lives 10 miles from the Tennessee border, told WTVD he crosses the border to fill up there instead.

“Let’s put it this way, I can put in 3 more gallons in my car there compared to here, because of the gas tax,” he said.

Source: WTVD