That’s because simply hiring more auditors won’t lead to the biggest tax avoiders being audited, it will lead to more audits in general because number of audits is the metric the IRS uses, and those audits will be of regular people who might be hiding a few thousand dollars from the government. Meanwhile the billionaires whose audits are costly and take years will continue funneling billions of dollars into offshore accounts.
Increasing the IRS budget is desperately needed but Congress has to give them clear directions on how to use the money or it’s not going to be used to hunt whales like Musk and Bezos.
LOL people for not reading past the headline, either.
VMT is not a new idea. It’s one of many in a whole stable of ideas for funding the Highway Trust fund. Which is what Pete said in the entire interview.
LOL this place. Fund public transportation with money you get from raising taxes on driving! But don’t raise taxes on driving until after you build more public transportation!
People see it as a solution looking for a problem. That’s the crux of this. Not quite
but close. I mean, what’s the point of introducing the idea of such an obviously controversial and problematic tax in the first place?
Like ok, for example, in terms of solving climate change and quite frankly most problems, I believe in something similar to China’s former one-child policy. It’s called the ‘no-child policy’. In case it isn’t self-explanatory, I mean no more people. Current children can remain alive. Humanity has had a good run, we laughed, we cried, we made some memories, but at this point it’s just getting ridiculous and embarrassing, right?
Now, nobody can argue that this policy wouldn’t solve everything, least of all man-made climate change. But, if I introduced the idea of such an obviously controversial and problematic solution as a response to 'HOW FIX _____", where would you think my motivations lie? You wouldn’t be crazy to suspect that maybe, just maybe, fixing _____ was at most secondary and my true animus was being a pessimistic misanthrope who prays nightly for rain and Great Filters.
People are bothered that you’re not extending them the same courtesy.
Under the pilot program, 71% of respondents supported implementation of a VMT as a replacement to the gas tax. 68% preferred VMT over the gas tax or preferred it equally.
I agree, but we disagree about how different they are.
Your broader point is wrong. You said “only” and that’s not accurate. Products do make their owners money, but that’s not the only reason they exist. In the context we’re discussing here, cars don’t only provide their makers with money, they also provide people with transportation.
Until its treated as the inhumane incident that it is, some folks will never see the light, that is until its made to be the Canadian border where facilities are provided for the people fleeing or otherwise for family in the USA to come and collect them etc + the overall view that these are our people & everyone is our people from earth and should be treated accordingly, this human disaster may never been seen for what it is.
Internationally, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Belgium, Russia and Switzerland have implemented various forms of VMT fees, limited to trucks. New Zealand also has such a system applying to all heavy vehicles and diesel-powered cars, known locally as a Road User Charge. Bulgaria has a truck based system under development. With the UK government banning the sale of non-electric cars from 2030, VMT tax is being considered in place of fuel duty revenue.[5]
Not a new idea. Most versions: tax the trucks that actually wreck the roads and make consumers pay instead of workers. UK version, ok, but we’re banning ICE. US version: the person in the 1996 Corolla pays the same as the person in the 2022 F-350 Super Crew Cab Eddie Bauer/Lious Vuitton Edition.
Roads are a huge money maker for business. This is not only Amazon running all over the roads, but every time you drive on the roads to go to a store or go to work. They make money for the government. Big time. And they want servants who are driving to work and to Walmart to pay for them. Why? We don’t have to do this. Eliminating public schools makes more sense.
Washington already has an extra tax on hybrids and EVs. Washington is also the nut low when it comes to their tax structure. Lol @ taxing people extra money who went out of their way to buy a more responsible car. Even bigger lol @ proposing a replacement to the gas tax that further screws EV owners. God my state is stupid at taxes.
Yeah, it’s a fucking tragedy; I’m just addressing a part of the discourse that usually ends up with people talking past each other.
I’m on the open-borders side, remember, precisely because of shit like this. If you’re gonna detain somebody for crossing a border, during peacetime, the facilities better be really nice. Tennis courts and virgin pina coladas and what not.
