Driving Tax = Quadruple Ick

I tend not to get too worked up when a new idea starts kicking around Washington DC, because most truly radical changes to the way our government runs start in the states. But this CNN article says a group of lawmakers (the article is vague on the size and makeup of this group) is looking at a driving tax. As in, charging us money for each mile we drive.

Here's the bit that gave me the biggest willies, right after "Pros and Cons"...

The driving tax could be collected by mail following an electronic reading of a vehicle's odometer at the gas station. It could also be tabulated using on-board GPS technology that records mileage driven.

Boo! Boo, sir! Booooooooooooooooo!

If you want to raise money on drivers, raise the damn gas sales tax. If you think you're not going to get enough revenue from the gas sales tax because cars are getting to be more fuel efficient, tough titties. Raise it again, I guess.

I'm all in favor of sales and usage taxes normally. I'm one of those nutballs who think a national sales tax would be a superior plan to our current hole-ridden, rich-get-out-free, privacy-invasive income tax system. But there is no way to implement this driving tax that doesn't involve tracking every car, of every age, somehow. 

And there is no way that, one this data is collected, the Department of Homeland Insecurity won't get access to it. And we've all seen what a friendly place they've made our airports.

Luckily -- and maybe I'm just saying this because I live in Texas and there are people here who would like to make getting touched on the forearm illegal -- I don't see voters rallying behind a nationwide bug-your-car tax. I'm guessing this is only being explored as an "or else" alternative to raising gas taxes. 

Then again, Portland Oregon already tried this for a year in 2006. Here's what the state's official site has to say about it:

Many policy options remain for decision makers, such as charging a lower rate-per-mile for vehicles that achieve a certain fuel efficiency, for motorists that avoid rush hour zones, or for those participating in other environmentally-friendly situations.

Sure, we could lower the tax for anyone who goes to the gym a certain number of times a month, or has a certain number of occupants in the car (determined by weight? satellite photographs?), or thinks good thoughts about Big Brother while stuck in traffic. 

Tax the product, not the buyer. Tax the transaction, not the behavior. Tax the economy, not the populace. Why are we also so willing to travel down these dark roads of behavior modification through taxation? It's blatant fiscal coercion, and I would rather pay Northern Europe stratospheric high tax rates in a generic way than be taxed for who I am or what I do. 

It's a subtle distinction sometimes -- I don't mind being taxed extra on beer, but I sure would be pissed to get an extra tax for heading towards the liquor store -- but it's crucial to our reputation as a land of freedom, where the future isn't prescribed and the present isn't subject to permission.