Quote:
Originally Posted by Hersbird
I doubt that is just a clear cut number without a bunch of other factors. Like does the registration taxes go into the general fund first? Do the sales taxes on cars and the income taxes on salespeople and dealerships go into the general fund first? What about all the other taxes from commerce based solely on transportation? I would think that also must only be considering the states portion of the funding ignoring the federal portion as I bet the federal portion is more than the supposed leftover 15% not coming from the general fund. Also around here, when they say funding for the roads they also mean bike paths, lanes, sidewalks, pedestrian bridges, ect. So the gas tax portion shouldn't be covering 100% even in a perfect system.
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Comparing EVs and ICEs, though--EVs are (except Tesla) sold through dealerships, so there's no difference in the income tax of the salespeople, etc. And for Teslas, well--you still have to pay sales tax on a Tesla, and since they tend to be more expensive than the average car, there's more revenue coming in per car sold for those EVs than ICEs. If you're going to get that particular, though, I think you just open a huge can of worms. What about taxes on steel manufacturers? Do those count as "transportation" revenue if some of their product ends up being turned into cars? If I buy food at a gas station, does that count as "transportation" revenue? For that matter, my bikes each cost several thousand dollars, and I bought all of them since moving to Illinois--shouldn't the sales tax I paid on them be counted as "transportation" revenue? If that's the case, I should be entitled to a lot bigger share of the road than I currently use.
Also, we have to specify which roads we're talking about here. Roads within a municipality that aren't interstates, US routes, or county highways are maintained with local funds, and those aren't remotely covered by local transportation taxes (Champaign, for example, takes $0.04 per gallon, and those greedy *******s in Urbana $0.05 per gallon).
The fairest thing to do, I think, is get rid of the state gas tax altogether and have a flat registration fee based on vehicle weight. No worries about government surveillance counting how far you drive, heavier EVs are penalized more but so are brodozers, and there's no penalty or incentive for EVs versus ICEs as far as road usage taxes are concerned. This will never happen, but I can dream.
Of course, starting Jan. 1 we'll have taxed, legal weed here. That should help put a dent in our financial hole.