CBO Broaches Idea of Taxing People for Driving

Here’s one that’s likely to go over like a lead balloon. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has issued a report raising the possibility of taxing people based on how many miles they drive. The idea is that the taxes would help cover the costs of highway maintenance and help prevent the massive budget deficit from expanding further, The Hill reports.

"In the past, the efficiency costs of implementing a system of VMT [vehicle miles traveled] charges — particularly the costs of users' time for slowing and queuing at tollbooths — would clearly have outweighed the potential benefits from more efficient use of highway capacity," the report says. "Now, electronic metering and billing are making per-mile charges a practical option."