Those are good questions.
how would a rebate to drivers at year end work? honor system on miles driven, gross income, receipts of gas purchases
I'd prefer to keep it simple. One possibility would be an equal rebate to each household based on the lesser of the number of vehicles or licensed drivers. I know it wouldn't be entirely equitable - urban drivers would benefit over rural drivers, but no policy is going to be perfect.
why would i drive less if i know i am going to get 100% of the tax back at year end.
You, and other wealthy drivers might not, but that would be your choice. I believe that most drivers would choose otherwise. The more you conserve - by using mass transit, carpooling, driving less, buying more efficient cars, etc.- the more you'll have to spend on other things.
higher taxes add a larger per cent of costs to lower income group , any additional offset for low income.
True, but they're paying it now as prices go up and they're getting no refund. The hypothesis is that the higher pump prices will generate significantly reduced demand, which will lower the cost of a barrel of oil. The price at the pump would still be high, but the net cost to the consumer would be lower as a result of the rebate.
Obviously, there's no guarantee that it would work that way, but IMO it would be worth trying. |
