"Congressman Sestak is so out-of-touch with Pennsylvania families that he supports raising travel costs on them during the heat of summer travel," said NRSC spokeswoman Andrea Bozek. "As families head to the shore for vacation, the NRSC is reminding them with our billboard campaign how damaging Congressman Sestak’s mileage tax would be on their pocketbooks."
Background
Sestak Advocated For A Mileage-Based User Fee In His Book
Sestak Said States “Should Begin To Experiment With A Mileage-Based User Fee Instead Of A Gallon-Based User Fee.”
In the meantime, individual states – which also charge a gas tax separate from the federal government’s – should begin to experiment with a mileage-based user fee instead of a gallon-based user fee. The gallon-based user fee was intended to be egalitarian when it began in the 1950s, and it made sense because cars generally got the same poor gas mileage. Today, with electric, hybrid, and conventional cars all on the road, the gallon-based fee makes little sense, and a mileage-based fee would go a long way toward making the tax less regressive.
The GAO Found That Under A Mileage Based Tax System Drivers Of Passenger Vehicles With Average Fuel Efficiency Would Pay More ($108 Per Year) Than They Currently Do ($96 Per Year) To Meet Current Federal Gas Tax Revenues ($34 Billion).
Mileage fee rates could be set to replace or supplement current Highway Trust Fund revenues. GAO calculated average mileage fee rates for passenger vehicles and commercial trucks needed to meet three federal revenue targets ranging from $34 billion (replace current federal fuel tax revenues) to $78 billion (increase spending to maintain existing system conditions and performance). To meet these targets, drivers of passenger vehicles with average fuel efficiency would pay $108 to $248 per year in mileage fees compared to the $96 these drivers currently pay in federal gasoline tax.