VoyForums Notice -- Quick Contributions:
Donate $10 to the Red Cross: Text the word REDCROSS to 90999
Donate $10 to the Salvation Army: Text the word STORM to 80888
* The charge will appear on your cellphone bill.
ROB HOTAKAINEN MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Published: March 21, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Despite opposition from the White House, a proposal to tax old cars off the nation’s highways is gathering speed on Capitol Hill.
Its popularity is increasing as Congress searches for ways to protect the environment while reducing automobile accidents due to unsafe older cars.
Supporters say the tax would also raise revenue for upkeep of the nation's roads and bridges. Many environmentalists endorse it, saying that it would lead to less driving and less pollution.
However, the proposal is raising concerns --opponents say that the last thing people need is to be forced by an oppressive federal tax into buying a newer car, particularly in the middle of a recession. Some critics, moreover, fear that it would have a disproportionate impact in states that lack adequate public transportation.
The tax would be based on a sliding scale, with owners of new cars paying the least, probably about $50. Cars two years old would be charged twice that rate, and each year thereafter the rate would be doubled. By the time a car reaches five years old, the owner would pay $800. A ten year old car, assuming such a thing would even exist, would cost its owner over $25, 000 in federal taxes alone—tremendous incentive to scrap the old car and buy a newer, less polluting model.
At a hearing last year, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., called the proposed tax a brilliant idea. After the White House said this month that it would oppose such a tax, Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., rushed to its defense, saying that the new administration should be "open to new ideas and open to dialogue."
"Whether they want it or not, they are going to get it," Oberstar said in a speech to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
The opinions of the two veteran lawmakers carry punch because they head the Senate and House of Representatives transportation committees, which oversee the country's infrastructure. With Boxer and Oberstar promising to examine the tax as an option, the idea is sure to create a lively debate this year.
Damn Democraps!