We've warned you about it,  you've heard about it back East, now Oregon wants to "test" it.

Starting in January,  test trial drivers will have their mileage recorded either by daily diary, odometer device, or GPS.   They will then be taxed $1.5 cents per mile, as opposed to the state gas tax which sits at $.30 cents per gallon.

Oregon officials say lack of funding is behind the idea, according to NW Cable News:

"ODOT's mission is to maintain safe highways for Oregonians, we can't do that if we don't have the funding to do the repairs and the maintenance that we need," said ODOT spokeswoman Michelle Godfrey. "With the gas tax failing, there is going to be a shortfall very, very soon."

Oregon voters have shot down gas taxes, so the state is looking for alternatives.   Here's one - spend less on other wasteful programs, and then devote more money towards what's needed.

We did some calculating, and here's how the pay-per-mile tax would vary from the $.30 per gallon tax.    Based upon the milage figures of my 2007 Dodge 1500 Crew Cab six speed pickup, does not have a Hemi,  I am using a 15 mpg figure.  That's between the occasional poor 11-12 in town and traffic, to the nearly 21 mpg I get on the highway.  My truck has a fuel efficiency digital reading on the overhead console.

So, 150 miles per week,  based upon 15 miles per gallon.  That's 10 gallons a week, and I have a 24 gallon tank.   Filling up roughly every two weeks, if I lived in Oregon, my monthly gas tax ($.30 per gallon)   would be somewhere between $14.40 and $14.80.

With the pay-per-mile tax,  based upon those previous figures, 150 miles a week,  I would be paying $9.00 per WEEK, and my monthly gas tax would rocket to over $27.00.

No wonder state governments want to go to a pay-per-mile system.  But despite this trial in Oregon,  it's doubtful we would see it soon, at least not the next few years.

 

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