4 ms·

Gasoline taxes aren't "vice taxes." They're usage taxes that pay for the maintenance of roads and bridges.

stale2002 10y ago
They are absolutely a vice tax. Every time you drive your car, you damage the road, increase traffic congestion, and put toxic chemicals into the air. The purpose of a gas tax is to discourage marginal usage. Since driving is more expensive, it makes that person who was deciding between driving their car or taking a bike to work and makes them just a little bit more likely to use the bike.
- the_watcher 10y ago
  Yea, the argument that it's a usage tax falls apart when you point out that, even before the movement to fuel efficient vehicles, a gas tax always applied to different people differently, regardless of their usage, as so many cars get different mileage, require more expensive forms of gas, etc. Unless someone somehow tries to make an argument that the variation in tax burden is somehow progressive (which is ridiculous unless they're arguing that wealthy people as a rule drive less efficient cars), then there's really no way to claim that it's actually a use tax.
the_watcher 10y ago
If the gas tax was pitched and passed as a usage tax, rather than as an incentive for purchasing more efficient vehicles, I'd have a different perspective on moving to a mileage tax. However, in California, at least some gas taxes were pitched and passed as vice taxes, and the mileage tax here was explicitly pitched to replace the revenue generated by it (by at least one CA representative). Thankfully, thus far we've resisted. Related: a usage tax for maintenance of roads and bridges has a far simpler option than taxing gas that may be used in boats, tractors, and other non-road uses: toll roads, which tax everyone who uses the roads equivalently. And before anyone argues that such a tax is regressive: a gas tax is far more regressive, as those with older, less efficient vehicles are hit harder than those with the money to buy a Tesla.
- greglindahl 10y ago
  Because diesel is commonly used for non-vehicle purposes, diesel fuel is frequently marked with color to indicate if it was taxed at the vehicle rate or not: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuel#Taxation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuel#Taxation However, if you're talking about a carbon tax instead of a roads maintenance tax, burning diesel or gas is the same, whether it's in a car or not.
  - the_watcher 10y ago
    A carbon tax is a vice tax, not a use tax.

stale2002 10y ago

They are absolutely a vice tax. Every time you drive your car, you damage the road, increase traffic congestion, and put toxic chemicals into the air. The purpose of a gas tax is to discourage marginal usage. Since driving is more expensive, it makes that person who was deciding between driving their car or taking a bike to work and makes them just a little bit more likely to use the bike.

the_watcher 10y ago
Yea, the argument that it's a usage tax falls apart when you point out that, even before the movement to fuel efficient vehicles, a gas tax always applied to different people differently, regardless of their usage, as so many cars get different mileage, require more expensive forms of gas, etc. Unless someone somehow tries to make an argument that the variation in tax burden is somehow progressive (which is ridiculous unless they're arguing that wealthy people as a rule drive less efficient cars), then there's really no way to claim that it's actually a use tax.

the_watcher 10y ago

If the gas tax was pitched and passed as a usage tax, rather than as an incentive for purchasing more efficient vehicles, I'd have a different perspective on moving to a mileage tax. However, in California, at least some gas taxes were pitched and passed as vice taxes, and the mileage tax here was explicitly pitched to replace the revenue generated by it (by at least one CA representative). Thankfully, thus far we've resisted. Related: a usage tax for maintenance of roads and bridges has a far simpler option than taxing gas that may be used in boats, tractors, and other non-road uses: toll roads, which tax everyone who uses the roads equivalently. And before anyone argues that such a tax is regressive: a gas tax is far more regressive, as those with older, less efficient vehicles are hit harder than those with the money to buy a Tesla.

greglindahl 10y ago
Because diesel is commonly used for non-vehicle purposes, diesel fuel is frequently marked with color to indicate if it was taxed at the vehicle rate or not: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuel#Taxation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuel#Taxation However, if you're talking about a carbon tax instead of a roads maintenance tax, burning diesel or gas is the same, whether it's in a car or not.
- the_watcher 10y ago
  A carbon tax is a vice tax, not a use tax.