Advocacy

Arkansas Bill to Create Pilot Program to Tax Cars for Miles Traveled Withdrawn by Sponsor

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

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Legislation to allow the State Highway Commission to implement a pilot program that charged drivers based on vehicle miles traveled was withdrawn by the bill’s sponsor after a public outcry.

Legislation to allow the State Highway Commission to implement a pilot program that charged drivers based on vehicle miles traveled was withdrawn by the bill’s sponsor after a public outcry. Under the measure, program participants would have been taxed 1.5 cents per each mile the subject vehicle traveled on Arkansas roadways. The bill could have created privacy concerns and penalized national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on vehicle mileage. The bill also would have imposed its harshest penalties on owners who are required to rely on their vehicles to drive long distances to and from places of employment.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.