Idea of per-mile tax for drivers surfaces again

Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Idea of per-mile tax for drivers surfaces again 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An Illinois state lawmaker wants to put an end to a vehicle miles traveled tax before the conversation starts to rev up.

Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, floated the idea in 2016 of putting a transponder on passenger vehicles to tax per mile as a way to find more revenue for infrastructure, but he abandoned the idea after immense public opposition.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker recently floated the idea as a policy position.

State Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Raymond, said it’s not a workable solution and filed a resolution opposing a vehicle miles traveled tax. She said such a tax will be more punishing for rural drivers.

“A lot of us have to drive many, many miles to our workplace or to drop kids off at school or whatever the case may be,” Bourne said. “It’s very different than city life where they may not be driving many miles at all.”

Americans for Prosperity Director of Federal Policy Mary Kate Hopkins said a vehicle miles traveled tax, like other user fees, might sound like a good idea at first, but it hits the least fortunate the hardest.

“The problem is not a revenue problem, it’s a spending problem, and we’ve got to address out-of-control spending,” Hopkins said.

Others have said a vehicle miles traveled tax could lead to double, if not triple taxation, let alone the privacy concerns that would be raised.

Hopkins also said some in the federal government may be thinking of increasing the federal gas tax by 25 cents as a way to generate more revenue for the country’s infrastructure.

Raising the gas tax is a knee-jerk reaction, she said, and policy makers should instead ensure gas tax revenue goes toward what drivers actually use like roads and bridges, not bike trails. She also said the prevailing wage needs to be addressed for a couple of reasons.

“No. 1, increased costs,” Hopkins said, “and No. 2, it kind of creates these problems where you want to do a project, but you can’t afford the labor and people are willing to do the work for less but because of prevailing wage requirements, they can’t.”

Proponents of the vehicle miles traveled tax or increasing the gas tax say there’s a need because of more fuel efficient and electric cars paying little to no gas tax.