The Trump administration suggested Wednesday it could support a tax on drivers for the amount of miles they drive, as a revenue source to pay for its $200 billion infrastructure investment plan.
California and Oregon have introduced vehicle miles traveled pilot programs, in which motorists can volunteer to pay taxes on the miles they travel and get a rebate on the gas tax they pay.
Supporters say a VMT tax is more fair than increasing the gasoline tax because it would apply to electric and hybrid vehicles.
The White House, in the annual Economic Report of the President, described Oregon as a “pioneer” in transportation funding and complimented its VMT program, which began in 2015.
“The program offers tangible evidence that a tax on vehicle miles traveled is a promising alternative to relying on fuel taxes,” the report said.
Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, described Oregon’s mileage tax as “innovative” in a conference call with reporters, according to Reuters.
President Trump earlier this month told lawmakers in a private meeting he would support raising the federal gas tax for the first time since 1993.
The tax is currently 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel.
Conservative groups have rallied against a gas tax hike, arguing the gas tax is regressive, since it is a fixed fee imposed on everybody who pays it, no matter their income. As a result, poorer people pay a larger percentage of their money on the tax, critics say.
Trump released his long-awaited infrastructure plan this week that proposes providing $200 billion in federal money to spur at least $1.3 trillion in spending from state and local governments and private industry.
But the Trump administration has provided little insight into how it would pay for the plan.
Hassett said Wednesday the administration was still looking at the “pluses and minuses” of different ways to pay for infrastructure.
“There’s a lot of discussion that will continue to evolve, I’m sure, as the infrastructure legislation moves forward, about how should we pay for this stuff,” he said.
