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by akerl_ 1761 days ago
As noted above/below, most US states already track mileage via checkpointing (at sale, recurring inspection, registration renewal, etc). I’m not suggesting they track anything they aren’t already doing. Nor is the inspection invasive: you write down your mileage on the form and signing affirms you aren’t lying.

I also don’t intend that the mileage basis would be designed to stop driving. It just seems more fair to tax that way. Right now I pay a flat tax for my EV. If I drive daily, I’m probably underpaying my share of road maintenance. If I drive rarely, I’m overpaying. Gas taxes already roughly track usage because the more you drive / the bigger your car, the more gas it takes to move it around. So again, this isn’t changing how states conceive of road maintenance, just leveling the playing field for EVs and hybrids.
1 comments
petre 1761 days ago
One can't determine distances driven outside of the tax jurisdiction based on that.

We have geofencing set in place for fuel tax incentives in Canadian provinces. Truck operators need to report that if they want part of their fuel tax money back. In Europe it's basically the same and gen2 smart tachographs already record GNSS coordinates at the start and end of the trip along with distance, as a non tampering measure, so there's data trail that can theoretically be used against you if you misreport. You are required by law to keep the tachograph files for two years and supply them to the control authority if needed.

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akerl_ 1761 days ago
Can’t speak for Canada, but likewise in the US, gas taxes are paid at the pump where there’s no geofencing
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petre 1761 days ago
Yes, you pay the tax at the pump like everybody else buy you may get a refund for certain acitvities like [1][2] in some provinces, notably Ontario.

  1. https://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/bulletins/gt/1_2001.html
  2. https://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/refund/pto/index.html
Also there's the situation in some EU states where truck operators are eligible for rebates on diesel tax:

https://www.eurovat.eu/en/diesel-tax-reclaim

In this case I think they just use the vehicle and refill documents. But the truck operators still need to report the drivers' working times per EU state because of the different labour laws in each EU state [3].

  3. https://trans.info/en/key-changes-for-the-road-transport-industry-in-europe-in-2021-216319
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