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Large cars impose negative externalities that a gas tax doesn't capture, like greater danger and less space for other people who share the road. In the case of
by ETH_start 4y ago
Large cars impose negative externalities that a gas tax doesn't capture, like greater danger and less space for other people who share the road. In the case of large electric vehicles, a gas tax also doesn't capture the cost they impose in terms of the wear and tear of the roads.
What's needed is a road use tax predicated on the size and weight of a car, and how congested the roadways it uses are. The latter point implies paying less tax if you use the car at times of the day when roads are not congested, or use routes that are less congested.
- harimau777 4y agoIs it possible to do that without also allowing the government to track people's movements?
- vanilla_nut 4y agoTax vehicles by weight? Those of us who choose to drive a sedan or a subcompact should be rewarded for wearing the road less and more efficiently using space. Large vehicles are fine to use for trips and jobs that require that large vehicle... but clearly gas prices aren't enough to disincentivize a huge chunk of American suburban residents from owning 4runners and F150s.
- dsfyu404ed 4y agoI greatly look forward to getting my "reward" for using a compact pickup to an extent that offends the sensibilities of upper middle class types.
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoEVs, even small ones, are going to get dinged on that measure (~an extra 700 pounds compared to an ICE of similar size).
- danny_codes 4y agoThat seems reasonable to me.
- acdha 4y agoThe government can already track your movements (you have a nice big identifier on the side even if you don’t have various wireless devices) but congestion pricing doesn’t require identifying people. Anonymous vehicle sensors can tell how congested an area is and they can charge you to enter that zone.
- ETH_start 4y agoShould be possible with electronic cash and zero-knowledge proofs.