Alternative Approaches to the Taxation of Heavy Vehicles Applications Manual (1997) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2.0 Evaluation Criteria
2.0 Evaluation Criteria
Pages 3-14
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 3... ...
Adequacy is determined by revenue yields in relation to funding requirements, the stability of revenue streams over time, the responsiveness of revenue yields to inflation and increases in needs, and the ease of revising fees or tax rates when needs increase faster than revenue. The obvious test for a revenue source is whether it provides enough revenue.
|
From page 4... ...
Relative to competing modes Economic Efficiency Charging based on fuD marginal costs Public agency costs and over external costs Spatial and temporal variation Evasion ant! Avoidance Illegal evasion Legal avoidance Feasibility Availability of necessary data and technology Political acceptability/opposition Constitutional prohibitions Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
|
From page 5... ...
those fuel gallonage taxes that are automatically adjusted for inflation, these taxes generally produce revenues that do not grow win inflation. Accordingly, most heavy-vehicle tax systems perioclicaDy require legislative increases in tax rates.
|
From page 6... ...
The userwharge principle requires that we charge each vehicle In proportion to its estimated responsibility for public agency costs. Departures from this distribution of the tax burden result In inequities, and such inequities become a particular concern when they provide a competitive advantage to vehicles that pay lower shares of their cost responsibility Wan do other vehicles.
|
From page 7... ...
The economic efficiency goal differs from the most generally accepted version of the equity goal in four ways: · In addition to public agency costs, the efficiency goal includes the other external costs of vehicle use; · It is based on marginal costs rather than average costs; · These costs are compared to the sum of all user charges (Federal, state and local) rather than to charges imposed by a single level of government; and · The marginal fee paid for vehicle use should, to the extent practical, match the marginal social costs attributable to that use.
|
From page 8... ...
Nonetheless, it is clear that the goal of economic efficiency is better served by setting charges to reflect external costs at the low end of Me plausible range than by ignoring these costs entirely; and this goal probably would be even better served by sewing charges to reflect consensus estimates of the extent of these costs. IdeaBy, the economic efficiency criterion would require that user charges vary by route, time of day, and environmental factors, to match the marginal costs of congestion, emissions, pavement impacts from axle weights, ambient air quality conditions, and other factors.
|
From page 9... ...
allow all highway users time to aciapt to their effects and would allow for-hire carriers time to adjust Weir rates. User charges designed to match full social cost responsibility would produce more tax revenue than required to cover public-sector highway costs.
|
From page 10... ...
Both illegal evasion and legal avoidance have important implications for tax adequacy and for equity.~ Evasion and avoidance reduce tax yields and, if the reduction is appreciable, they may result in a need to increase tax rates. Perhaps more importantly, evasion and avoidance reduce tax equity by interfering with governmental attempts to tax carriers on the basis of their estimated cost responsibility.
|
From page 11... ...
Alternatives to the Taxation of Heavy Vehicles Applications Manual - Evaluation Criteria u, _.
|
From page 12... ...
o Cal · ·~ X 12 o C,7 o CO o I_ c A_ o Ad_ Ct o ~J `18 ~1 I // - l ~ ~ ~ ~ I I I 1-: S\SO~ he: ' O C13 1 I 0 1 1 Co 'l'~ 0- E o ~ i_ ~ 2 ~ Q / 0 o C' 00 o o ID ._ AL In CO o C) ._ o 1 1 1 1 1 ~ 1 ~ 1 1 1 ~ X Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
|
From page 13... ...
A decision as to whether or not to embark on such an educational effort can then be based on an evaluation of the advantages of the new system relative to the expected effort that would be required and the likelihood of its ultimate success. In the case of major tax-structure changes that are designed to unprove equity or economic efficiency, opposition may also be mitigated by phasing in any higher tax rates, allowing carriers tune to adjust to the changes in their costs by instituting appropriate rate increases.
|
From page 14... ...
; and, of course, the advantages of the tax in question. 14 Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.