Infrastructure Bill Has Provision That Could Lead to Big Fees on Americans and Blow Up Biden's Promise on Taxes

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Remember that promise of Joe Biden’s that he wasn’t going to raise taxes on people earning less than $400,000 per year?

“If you make less than $400,000, you won’t see one single penny in additional federal tax,” Biden told George Stephanopoulos in March 2020.

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But then Psaki tried to fudge that by saying that they meant “families” earning that amount or suggesting that it referred to couples. Which, of course, has a completely different meaning and leaves individuals at much greater risk.

But that is not the only place where the Democrats are trying to sneak something past us in regard to potential taxes.

In the new bipartisan infrastructure deal, there’s a provision for a multiyear “national motor vehicle per-mile user fee pilot” program. The pilot program, in section 13002 of the bill, would target personal vehicle mileage, charging users based on vehicle miles traveled.

From Fox Business:

The 2,702-page bill directs Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to provide recommendations to Congress within three years of the pilot program’s establishment, at which point lawmakers could choose whether or not to pass new legislation taxing miles-per-vehicle in order to fund the infrastructure overhaul.

The program would target passenger motor vehicles, light trucks and medium- and heavy-duty trucks, while fees would likely vary between vehicle types and weight classes “to reflect estimated impacts on infrastructure, safety, congestion, the environment, or other related social impacts.”

“The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, and consistent with the recommendations of the advisory board, shall establish a pilot program to demonstrate a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee to restore and maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund and to improve and maintain the surface transportation system,” the bill text reads.

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Per-mile user fee. So what’s the White House’s response to what looks like a sneaky way to move toward instituting a national mileage tax?

From Yahoo:

“There is literally nothing in the bill that is counter to the president’s pledge. This refers to two provisions about research. One gives grants to states if they want to apply to do their own research. The second involves a federal pilot program based on individual volunteers, who receive full refunds, for studies that would then only be the basis for recommendations about future legislation,” one White House official elaborated. “The administration will evaluate all legislation, including any bills relevant to these pilot programs, against the $400,000 pledge.”

The pilot program will be tested using “volunteers” who will be reimbursed, the White House claims.

So you’re just running a pilot program to determine if we should have a national vehicle per-mile user fee, but don’t worry because hey, we might decide not to do it? We’re supposed to believe that? Why are you even looking into it, to begin with? Do we need to remind people that income taxes originally were not supposed to be a permanent thing?

Democrats – they just can’t stop trying to put taxes on you, even if they promise not to. This serves their purpose of making it expensive to drive a car, thus reducing the driving and serving their climate change purposes. This could devastate a lot of people, especially those who drive as part of their job or have reason to drive a lot. The 17 Republicans who went along with this ought to have their heads examined.

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