Mileage tax topic of discussion at transportation task force meeting

Missouri should consider taxing motorists based on the miles they drive rather than continuing to rely on a fuel tax, a think-tank official told a meeting of the state’s transportation task force Wednesday in Cape Girardeau.

Adrian Moore of the Reason Foundation, a libertarian organization based in California, spoke by conference call to members of the task force gathered at the Drury Plaza and Convention Center.

The 23-member task force of lawmakers, executive officials and Missouri residents faces a January deadline to recommend a transportation-funding plan.

Moore said a mileage charge would be fairer than a use tax.

“It is directly related to the use of the system,” he said.

A gas tax is not sustainable in the long run, Moore said. With increasingly fuel-efficient vehicles, motorists use less fuel, which leads to less tax revenue, he said.

Moore said 24 states are exploring the mileage-tax mechanism. Missouri is among a number of states that have received grants to study various aspects of such a taxing system.

Oregon is implementing a road-use-charge system, Moore said.

There are a number of ways to levy a charge, he told the task force. One way is to charge a flat fee, Moore said.

Technology also could play a role, allowing computer systems in cars to upload information to the collecting agency as what the motorist owes each month, he said. Another option is to use an OnStar-like system to continuously track vehicles, he said.

None of that can happen in Missouri without approval of state lawmakers, Moore said.

State Rep. Kathy Swan doesn’t like the idea. Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, was among a number of local lawmakers in the audience. Swan told a reporter during the meeting such a tax would not be popular with Southeast Missouri motorists.

State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, told the task force Missouri needs to increase its gas tax to adequately fund Missouri’s roads and bridges.

The 17-cent-a-gallon fuel tax was last increased 21 years ago, Libla said. Revenue from the tax has remained flat for many years, he told the commission.

Meanwhile, the cost of constructing and maintaining roads and bridges has continued to increase, he said.

Libla said the gas tax is a “fair and reliable” method for funding the state’s roads and bridges.

Toll roads have been suggested as a way to provide increased funding for transportation. But Libla said toll roads would be more costly for motorists than increasing the gas tax.

“Personally, I am not a fan of toll roads,” he said.

Funding transportation expenses from the state’s general-revenue fund or from a sales tax is not the answer, he said.

Libla said tying the gas tax to the consumer price index would allow the tax to be adjusted for inflation. If Missouri had enacted such a mechanism years ago, the state would not have to be looking at how to increase funding, he told task force members.

“I am kind of a pay-as-you-go guy,” Libla said, adding “we have got to get this thing figured out.”

mbliss@semissourian.com

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