Tax man someday may ride with you

By Larry Sandler, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

One day, perhaps, every car on the road will be equipped with a computer that uses satellite technology to record every mile you drive, and in which states and on which roads. Then the government will use that information to tax you for your driving.

That day could be just five to 10 years away. Nine states and the federal government are paying for an $800,000 study of whether such a system could be created to replace the gas tax.

If that sounds Orwellian to you, you're not alone. Wisconsin state Rep. Marlin Schneider, the Legislature's leading privacy advocate, calls the concept "a horrid idea. It is Big Brother in hearts, spades and clubs."

Minnesota is leading the study, with funding from Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Kansas, North Carolina, Texas, Washington state and the Federal Highway Administration.

Researchers and transportation officials agree privacy concerns are among the biggest issues that would have to be dealt with before the system could be put in place.

But they're pressing ahead with the study, because they fear the growth of alternative-fuel cars could mean the end of the road for the gas tax. As a side benefit, they say the system would give every driver a satellite navigation unit and a way to call for help in an emergency.

Such a system also could lower gas prices, eliminate toll booths and allow businesses to build and run highways, added David Forkenbrock, one of the researchers leading the 2-1/2-year study.

Much of the technology already exists, in the form of the global positioning system units that have started to appear in cars. With GPS, a small computer in a car, boat or aircraft can use satellite signals to pinpoint the vehicle's location anywhere in the world, then find that location on a map and provide directions to any destination.

People are using GPS units now to find their way through unfamiliar cities. But the devices could be modified to collect tax data as well, said Forkenbrock, director of the Public Policy Center at the University of Iowa.

With the maps in the GPS unit's database, the on-board computer could keep a record of how many miles each car or truck traveled on each road in each state. Drivers could be required to periodically download that data to a government computer network, perhaps at terminals installed in gas stations, Forkenbrock said.

Then a central government clearinghouse would analyze the data and mail all drivers bills assessing them a Wisconsin tax for miles driven in Wisconsin, an Illinois tax for miles driven in Illinois, etc. Some states might charge different rates for driving on interstate highways, local streets or other types of roads, Forkenbrock said.

Fueling the study is the fear that states could run out of cash to build and maintain roads if they keep relying on the gas tax.

"We know the gas tax is going to have increasing problems" as automakers produce more hybrid vehicles powered by a mixture of gas and electricity, alternative-fuel cars and other vehicles designed to get more mileage with less gas, Forkenbrock said.

With gas taxes now reaping $50 billion a year for state and federal transportation departments nationwide, the rise of fuel-efficient vehicles "is a very serious threat to the state's capacity to provide adequate transportation," Forkenbrock said.

"It would be irresponsible if we did not look at these long-term issues," said Adeel Lari, director of alternative transportation financing for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Schneider says he has been warning road-builders for years that the gas tax may not be able to sustain the highways of the future. Still, he said, that's no excuse for what he calls "a massive invasion of privacy that I don't think Americans will accept."

Forkenbrock is leading a team of lawyers and policy analysts examining the legal and governmental issues involved, while researchers at the University of Minnesota work on the technical details.

To address the privacy concerns, Forkenbrock said, the computers could be set up to record information only in general terms -- not to keep track of exactly where drivers were at what time. States could set additional restrictions in the laws authorizing the system, such as prohibiting the information from being used for anything other than tax bills, he said.

Because people are traveling on public roads in full view of everyone, gathering this information "is really not much of an invasion of privacy," Forkenbrock said.

Schneider disagreed. For example, he said, a Wisconsin woman who drives to the Mayo Clinic for confidential treatment might not want to explain to her husband why they are being billed for travel in Minnesota.

Privacy aside, cost would be another issue, both for states and individuals.

Also, people who own older cars might be faced with bills of up to $2,000 to install GPS units, and that's a substantial sum for low-income residents, Lari noted.

On the other hand, widespread use of this taxing system could mean that GPS units would become standard equipment on new cars, Forkenbrock said. That means everyone with a new car would have a "spectacularly good" satellite navigation unit, with a feature that could summon help in an emergency with one touch of a button, he said.

"Public acceptance, I think, will hinge on what the public gets for this," Forkenbrock said.

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