Cash Strapped States Passing Legislation To Tax Self Driving Cars By The Mile

Some cash-strapped states are considering taxing self-driving cars as they look for ways to replace revenue lost from gas tax collections that have dwindled as cars have become more fuel efficient.

State lawmakers in Massachusetts have introduced legislation that would impose a 2.5 cents-per-mile tax on self-driving cars. A similar measure that would establish a 1 cent-per-mile fee for self-driving cars, and a 2.6 cent-per-mile fee for autonomous trucks that have more than two axles has been approved by the state Senate in Tennessee.

At the federal level, the independent Eno Center for Transportation think tank in Washington has proposed a penny-per-mile fee on automakers for self-driving cars when they are operating in autonomous mode. The idea has been endorsed by at least one former U.S. transportation secretary.

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TheSteve - 8/21/2017 3:53:26 PM

+2 Boost

There's nothing like stifling progress with a new tax, is there?

Just curious, but was there a per-mile tax on the "Horseless Carriage" back in the horse-n-buggy era? A tax on per-hour electrical use in the days of candlelight? A per-cubic-foot tax on natural gas when it was common to shovel coal to heat houses? A per-page tax on the printing press when books were copied by hand?

PUGPROUD - 8/21/2017 4:03:26 PM

+4 Boost

I read my water bill for the first time in years and the taxes and fees exceed the cost of the water itself. Politicians would tax the air we breathe if they could figure out how.

GeorgeD - 8/21/2017 6:14:39 PM

0 Boost

Here's a question, why would they tax a gas powered self-driving car? Better off adding a tax/fee to all new/pre-owned cars sold than a annual mileage tax.

TomM - 8/22/2017 4:20:43 PM

+2 Boost

This is truly STUPID - there won't be any real numbers of these vehicles on the road for at least a decade - probably longer. How much money will they collect on maybe 100 cars the first year?