Obama the Taxman Proposes Electronic Vehicle Tracking

Drudge had a story today about Obama pushing to make you purchase an electronic tracking appliance that will track every mile you drive and then tax you on your mileage by adding it to your fuel bill at the gas pump. That mileage tax will of course be above and beyond the federal taxes on gasoline.

So the tracker will probably work via GPS and it will of course be a useful tool for the police too. It would also be pretty easy to equip such an appliance with other technologies- such as bluetooth integration so it can monitor your usage of bluetooth equipment such as hands-free devices or microphones in the car.

Laughably, the proposal is part of the “Transportation Opportunities Act” which means the government will have the opportunity to take more of our money. From theHill here:

Obama’s proposal seems to follow up on that idea in section 2218 of the draft bill. That section would create, within the Federal Highway Administration, a Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office. It would be tasked with creating a “study framework that defines the functionality of a mileage-based user fee system and other systems.”

The administration seems to be aware of the need to prepare the public for what would likely be a controversial change to the way highway funds are collected. For example, the office is called on to serve a public-relations function, as the draft says it should “increase public awareness regarding the need for an alternative funding source for surface transportation programs and provide information on possible approaches.”

This will one day become a reality, and it will likely not be couched as a “tax” but as “carbon offsets” for the mileage you selfishly drive and the pollution you supposedly dump into the air. Think you might be able to simply be noncompliant? Your gas pumps won’t work unless you prepay a nominal fee wirelessly with your tracking device. Gas stations will comply with the installation of their fee collection stations- that is, if they want to keep selling gasoline.

And of course, the government will be able to track all of your movements within the US borders, and they will collect data on where you work, if you go to bars, where you shop, which church you attend, and where you spend your vacation. Big brother is here, and his name is Obama.