Tax man someday may ride with you

States consider using locator devices to track those using roadways

By LARRY SANDLER
of the Journal Sentinel staff

Last Updated: Nov. 18, 2000

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.

		How It Might Work
		An 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. A central government clearinghouse would analyze the data and mail bills to drivers 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.

That day could be just five to 10 years away. Wisconsin has joined eight other states and the federal government in 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. State Rep. Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids), the Legislature's leading privacy advocate, calls the concept "a horrid idea. It is Big Brother in hearts, spades and clubs."

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, the 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.

In Wisconsin alone, the state gas tax raises