CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Could you soon be taxed for the miles you drive?
>>In the video at the top of this webpage, Traffic Team 9′s Mark Taylor learns about the program putting the GPS tracking device to the test.
A Channel 9 investigation found it’s being tested in North Carolina by following your car’s every move.
The gas tax — one of the oldest taxes levied to North Carolinians — is unsustainable.
That has long been the take of experts who, for years, have been watching the impact of rising travel trends such as electric vehicles, on the tax. The tax, at about 36.1 cents per gallon, is a major funding source for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
But could a mileage-based tax be the answer?
Maybe. That’s according to a presentation last month, which called taxing by mileage instead of fuel consumed a “revenue neutral” option.
Currently, rural households pay an annual average of $343 in fuel taxes, far above the $243 average in urban areas, according to Patricia Hendren, executive director of the Eastern Transportation Coalition. Statewide, the average is $297 a year.
Swapping fuel tax for mileage tax would be a “revenue neutral approach” despite the perception, she said.
You can read more about it here.
Cox Media Group