The problem with TBDs is they can charge drivers to subsidize other modes
With lawmakers working bills through the legislature that would expand tax authority for Transportation Benefit Districts (TBDs) it is important to explain what is wrong with them.
One of the problems with TBDs is that officials can use the revenue, most of which is paid by drivers, for non-road purposes. Cities and counties have significant unmet road infrastructure needs and any new taxes or fees paid by drivers should be tied to projects that benefit them, not to other user groups. In fact, this is how most transportation leaders justified the creation of TBDs in the first place; to give local government officials funding options to fix their streets.
But unlike gas taxes, there is no protection that limits transportation-related fees collected from drivers, to road purposes. For example, imposing a $40 fee on drivers who own a car in King County to pay for expanding bus service for Metro is possible and undoubtedly unfair.
Reiterating this point in a Publicola article is Sen. Curtis King saying:
… that it was unfair to tax drivers to pay for transit, and suggested that any fee for transit should have to go to a vote of the people. “You’re saying to the people that own a car, ‘You get to pay this one percent and we’re going to give the money to the transit agencies so that all the people who want to ride the buses can do it at a very low rate,” King said. “That’s not fair. That’s not equitable.”
King County officials already imposed a $20 car tab tax on drivers to fund bus service last year. This is unfair and siphons money away from fixing the road-needs of drivers. Lawmakers should restrict any taxes or fees paid by drivers to road purposes only.
You can read more about WPC’s position on a transportation funding package here:
Comments
road quality
Roads in my neighbor hood and city are excellent! Thanks WaDot and Sdot. You all are doing an excellent job. No pot holes, lots of sidewalks and curbs and some good looking traffic calming devices. Yippee!!!!!
You want me to pay for bus service with my car tabs. Sure thing. I'll pitch in and do my part to help out my neighbors who have to use mass transit. After all, taking care of my neighbors is the Godly thing to do.
..Or, I could just give them a ride in my car....
car drivers are subsidized by taxpayers
At the end of the day, car drivers directly pay only about 1/3 of the cost of the roads upon which they drive. The other 2/3 comes from people who just happen to live in the area, whether they drive or not.
People pay gas taxes for the miles they drive on local streets and roads, but those taxes mostly pay for state and federal highway projects. Washington even exempts gas from state sales taxes, which diverts those tax revenues to highways - and only highways - in the form of gas taxes.
Interstate highways are federally funded, 70% by fuel taxes; the balance comes from other funds, i.e., income taxes. State highway *construction* in WA is funded fuel and licensing taxes. But once the road is built, county and local government is largely responsible for maintenance and repair.
At the county level, state and federal grants pay for about 1/3 of road construction, maintenance and repair, almost entirely from fuel taxes. The other 2/3 comes from local property taxes, sales taxes, and "levies" (more property taxes). At the city level, 20% of that funding comes from state and federal grants, and the other 80% from more property and sales taxes.
Sources:
http://www.publicola.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Do-Roads-Pay-for-The...
http://www.crab.wa.gov/LibraryData/REPORTS/EngineerAnswers/Article24-04W...