New appointee has advocated a levy based on how much and where motorists drive. Idea is gaining support, but privacy advocates worry.
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday appointed a new Department of Motor Vehicles director who has advocated taxing motorists for every mile they drive — by placing tracking devices in their cars.
In one scenario — currently being tested in Oregon — tracking devices send a signal to a GPS satellite following the car, and that information would be used to calculate the tax bill. Other devices send a signal directly from the car to the pump, which calculates the tax based on the odometer reading.
story LATimes archived Politech ("California DMV chief wants to track all drivers with GPSbugs")
~For state senators and congress-critters whose travel to and from the state capitol is subsidized, it's not difficult to imagine the benefits of such a tax.
Why not simply levy new sales taxes and license-plate fees on higher-priced cars and SUV's, assume those who invest more in their cars, use them more. Each optional-feature could have it's own tax and special tax breaks for hybrid-cars would spur consumer interest. No need to maintain a huge state-run GPS tracking-system for every car in California.