You could do that but it’s considerably more complicated than a flat tax. I would much rather pay a flat fee to not have to deal with inspections and/or tracking mileage.
Yes, in my opinion, a simple but unfair (in a largely meaningless sense of the word) tax is better than a perfectly fair tax, especially when ensuring fairness comes with cumbersome compliance requirements that both eats into tax revenue and doesn’t provide a significant change in the amount owed. $150 vs $75 over the year is not meaningful so even a 50% reduction doesn’t change much of anything.
Presumably your car has an annual safety inspection. The inspection could include writing down your milage, right? I’m pretty sure there are already laws against tampering with your odometer…
Yeah, unfortunately most states don’t have a yearly inspection. There’s registration, but outside of the New England area and select western states, there’s no real inspection requirements.
It was really surreal going to Florida for the first time and seeing people driving around with bumpers hanging off their vehicle and seeing my aunt driving around with tires so bald that I was surprised it could grip the road
Duh, the issue here is it’s a flat rate. It should just be calculated by mileage driven.
You could do that but it’s considerably more complicated than a flat tax. I would much rather pay a flat fee to not have to deal with inspections and/or tracking mileage.
So the people that drive everyday pay the same tax as those that drive once a week?
Yes, in my opinion, a simple but unfair (in a largely meaningless sense of the word) tax is better than a perfectly fair tax, especially when ensuring fairness comes with cumbersome compliance requirements that both eats into tax revenue and doesn’t provide a significant change in the amount owed. $150 vs $75 over the year is not meaningful so even a 50% reduction doesn’t change much of anything.
Presumably your car has an annual safety inspection. The inspection could include writing down your milage, right? I’m pretty sure there are already laws against tampering with your odometer…
Yeah, unfortunately most states don’t have a yearly inspection. There’s registration, but outside of the New England area and select western states, there’s no real inspection requirements.
It was really surreal going to Florida for the first time and seeing people driving around with bumpers hanging off their vehicle and seeing my aunt driving around with tires so bald that I was surprised it could grip the road
No, there are no annual safety inspections. Some states do emissions tests but mine does not and EVs would obviously be excluded from those anyway.
I’m so sorry. It must be terrifying knowing how many of your fellow drivers are zipping around with worn brake pads or broken turn signals. 😬
Only 14/50 US states do safety inspections. Wheels fly off and hit someone every fucking day. Because freedom.