The gas tax should be viewed as that, a tax, and anything else is fundamentally wrong, writes Alex Marshall.
Marshall says a gas tax should not be considered a user fee because unlike a tax, a user fee gives the consumer a choice to either pay, or not to pay. He sites the fee to enter and park at a national park, as well as the use of toll roads as examples that incur user fees. People have the choice to pay to park, or to use the less traveled tollway.
"To qualify as a user fee, you must have a choice as to whether or not you pay it. It also must relate directly to a particular service that you can accept or reject, and to the number of times you use that service."
Marshall adds,
"Why do all these labels matter? Aren't they just semantics? No, because labels influence policies."
FULL STORY: What to Call the Gas Tax: Not Just Semantics
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research