Oregon looks at per-mile tax on gas sippers

[0rganism]

12. this seems like an easily-solved problem

Problem: highly efficient vehicles don't pay as much for road upkeep in per-gallon gasoline taxes to directly support road maintenance
Solution: as the gasoline tax revenues decrease, compensate with higher income taxes and use more general funds for road maintenance

Considerations:
- The income tax is one of the few halfway progressive taxes we have.
- I sure as hell don't want to discourage people from purchasing or benefitting from high-efficiency vehicles.
- A per-mile tax may seem like a good idea, but it disproportionately affects lower-income individuals who must commute long distances and may still be paying the high gas taxes on an inefficient vehicle they can't afford to replace.

Usage taxes tend to be regressive. I'm not a fan.