Pay-to-drive tax may be far down the road

By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING –As vehicles are becoming more efficient and gas tax rates have remained the same for decades, those taxes no longer provide enough money to pay for the building and upkeep of roads and bridges, the Snyder administration says. New technology that tracks how much a vehicle drives may provide an answer – but only way down the road. Michigan now taxes motorists 19 cents per gallon for gasoline and 15 cents for diesel, last raised in 1997. And the federal tax of 18.4 cents a gallon hasn’t been raised in nearly two decades. According to the Department of Transportation (MDOT), Michigan’s rate is one of the lowest in the Great Lakes area and the state’s gas tax revenue declined more than $100 million from 2001 to 2011.