ST. PETER, MINN. -
They're calling it a mileage-based user fee - a tax on the miles you drive, rather than the fuel you buy.
MnDOT is looking for 500 drivers in Hennepin and Wright Counties to test technology that could one day be used to calculate the new mileage tax.
Citing an increase in fuel-efficient vehicles, MnDOT predicts a decrease in the amount of taxes collected through the sale of gas and diesel fuel.
So they're looking at new ways to make up for that lost revenue.
Rep. Terry Morrow says, "We can't rely on a 100 year old base for funding roads into the future, given the way that our vehicles have changed, the way our communities are changing and the way that road funding is changing."
While Representative Morrow stresses that many more factors will be considered than just miles you drive, the change would be a dramatic shift in taxation, understandably prompting a lot of doubts and questions from those we spoke with.
The tax is in the earliest stages of development, meaning no one really knows what it's going to look like. That's why lawmakers are urging the public to wait for details to come out.
Rep. Morrow says, "I want to encourage people to give this some thought. This is not going to happen tomorrow, it's not going to happen next year... we need to do studies, to do tests, to do pilots, to make sure things work."
