Mileage tax: If it passes, more schemes will follow

The public should take note of the increasing drumbeat of news about a new pay-per-mile automobile tax in Washington. Aided and abetted by newspapers like The News Tribune and other Washington media, we are being softened up for the announcement of a new, higher tax.

Two things to keep in mind: This idea would be largely dictated by an unelected state department, WSDOT, and rubber stamped by elected officials.

Second, and more ominously, if a GPS or similar system is imposed on drivers, it is but a short step before the same technology will be mandated for even more taxes: so-called “peak hours” fees, high volume area taxes and other creative revenue-generating schemes.

For the tax-and-spend types in Olympia, this will be the gift that keeps on giving. Check with the folks in Bellevue (Interstate 405 HOV tolls) on how they feel about that idea.

Hopefully initiative writers are warming up their keyboards to repel this new and unnecessary tax. We must draw the line somewhere.

This story was originally published August 13, 2019 at 4:07 PM.